Her Thousandth Birthday
by NushiKasai
Summary: One thousand years from the day she was saved from a werewolf bite, Caroline is living it up in the high life. At the celebration of her dreaded birthday, however, she comes face to face with her saviour from all those years ago.
1. Chapter 1

**This story has been in my head for a while, it's good to get it out :)**

**Earth has recently been through damage- earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis etc, so it's pretty underdeveloped for it's age. :) Caroline is living it up in the high life :)**

**I do not own Vampire Diaries :)**

* * *

><p>Walking through the main streets of New York, Caroline Forbes- or Clementine North, as she currently went by- found herself remarking at how much the city had changed since she last experienced the Big Apple.<p>

She was one of the only people left in the street; the rest having taken full advantage of the teleportation pods that sat at the entrance to every building. The style of architecture had taken a turn for medieval- well, medieval for humans, Caroline wryly thought to herself. For her, the buildings simply made her think of the way Paris had been when the girl was in her young years of vampirism.

Nonetheless, it was very pretty.

"Miss North!" The voice snapped her out of her reverie, and she scolded herself for becoming preoccupied. Passing as human was gradually starting to be more and more difficult, and people were starting to take more notice at details that used to be so easily left alone. She turned her head to the left to see her valet, George, next to her with shopping bags. "Is it wise to be wandering at this time of night, Miss?"

"It's not wandering," she replied as she surveyed the crude advertisements flashing from electronic devices near the walking pair. "I'm…reminiscing."

The valet nodded his head in understanding; not looking fazed by the dozens of shopping bags and gifts that he was holding in his hands. He was a vampire, so the weight was practically nothing.

"Yes, I suppose one's birthday might do that to you," he commented wisely; the old accent of England seeping into his voice. "It is an emotional time for you, Miss North."

The blonde girl smiled gratefully at him, remembering how she was supposed to be Clementine North; heir to the grand fortune of the prestigious political family of North America and social butterfly of the aristocratic circle.

"I'm glad you're here, George," Caroline truthfully told him, "I'd be wandering in circles, otherwise."

The girl detected a faint pink tinge coming to the valet's cheeks, as he smiled in embarrassment. She knew he hated being complimented, but she couldn't resist because he always reacted so adorably.

"Come now, Miss North," he shifted the bags in his arms so that he could have a better view of the ground. "We both know that isn't true."  
>The blonde vampire laughed as she recalled how confusing life had been without George.<p>

"Trust me, Georgie," she called him his pet name, just to see him blush a bit more. "Before you were around, I used to forget how old I was- I didn't do anything to define one year from the others."  
>The valet was silent; the adorable blush still prominent on his clear complexion.<p>

"If it helps, Miss North," he dryly commented after a few seconds, "Today is your one thousandth birthday."

Caroline tried to ignore the nostalgic feeling she got from those words, but plastered a smile on her face as she turned to her long time butler and friend.

"See? That's what I mean!" She poked him playfully on the arm. "You're so helpful! For all you know, I could have easily mistaken today to be my nine-hundred and ninety-ninth birthday."

That was the only lie she had said to him.

This birthday was significant.

"My apologies, Miss North," the valet failed in concealing a smirk. "For ruining your attempts at trying to pass off as a younger woman."

"Ouch!" Caroline couldn't help a smile creep onto her face. "I'm not that old, really…"

"Please; for a human, you're practically a billion years old," the man calmly replied as they slowly approached the gate to the North residence.

Caroline stiffened, remembering when it was once her uttering words so similar in meaning to another.

"_Aren't you like a billion years old?" _

"Well, a human doesn't have a very good perception of time," she replied absentmindedly, as she started to fiddle with the Irish fashioned dress that she wore; it was exactly the type of attire needed to pass off for someone in a high class.

Her valet gave her a piercing sidelong gaze; knowing that her words were not her own. Honestly, he knew her too well.

"You're awfully distracted today, Miss North," he observed, tilting his head as though it would provide better answers. "I'd appreciate it if you told me why I will, undoubtedly, be making excuses for you tonight whilst you run away from your own birthday party."

"You know I get sensitive on my birthday," she bit her lip as she dreaded the evening's celebrations. It wasn't a birthday party; it was a birthday BALL. "I think today might be a bit worse, though."

"And why is that, Miss North?"

Caroline shrugged, remembering the freakishly tender words that someone spoke to her so long ago, when she was only young to the world.

"Something that someone said to me a long time ago," she finally replied, blinking rapidly so that she wouldn't start to take a trip down memory lane.

The valet knew immediately that this was a touchy subject, so he didn't pursue it; not wanting her to be upset before her own party.

"Very well," he quickly placed his hand on the touch lock of the grand gate; opening it so that the pair could continue their walk to the main residence. "Just know that the past is the past, Miss North; it will only hinder you from moving forward."

Caroline flashed him a grateful smile, wondering how she ever managed without her best friend. Despite the years she had lived through, she still remembered everything that had happened; every memory was still sharp in her mind, as though she had lived them the day before.

"God, Georgie," she smiled cheerfully at him as they started through the edge of the grounds. "What would I do without you?"

* * *

><p>"<em>Are you going to kill me?" She asked with the fear obvious in her voice. She didn't bother to attempt moving away from him- it would do little good. <em>

_His eyes seemed to soften slightly; showing an expression she had never seen on his face._

"_On your birthday?"His face turned serious. "You really think that low of me?"_

"_Yes," she replied without needing to think the question through. _

_He slowly started to approach the bed, causing her to breathe louder in fear and pain. Reaching a hand out, he gently pulled away the blanket and saw the harsh wound that his first successful hybrid had inflicted. He inhaled quickly as he opened his mouth to speak._

"_That seems bad," he observed, "My apologies; you are what's known as collateral damage-it's nothing personal."_

_She stared up at him with confusion; wondering what he was doing here. Oh, she knew his blood would heal her, but she wasn't exactly able to attack him in her state and she seriously doubted he was going to give it up easily. He'd want something in return. _

_His eyes shifted to her right arm, where the bracelet that Tyler had given to her earlier rested. He tilted his head as he reached forward and gently flicked one of the charms; causing it to move sideways. _

"_I love birthdays," he told her fondly, a smile playing about his lips. _

_Caroline couldn't help but scoff at the situation. The Original hybrid, who had killed too many people to count and had manipulated and used the lives of everybody else, was in her room- talking about birthdays, of all things!_

"_Aren't you like a billion or something?" She shook her head slightly as she spoke, as if in denial that the situation was even happening. _

"_You'll have to adjust your perception of time, now that you're a vampire," the hybrid replied, an amused smile on his lips. "Celebrate the fact that you're no longer bound by trivial human conventions. You're free."_

"_No," she disagreed with him, wishing that what he said was true, but knowing that it wasn't. "I'm dying."_

_His expression was freakishly serious as he leant over and sat down slowly on the bed. He crossed his hands and placed them on his knee, nodding at her previous words._

"_And I could let you," he replied, with a slight matter-of-factly edge to his voice. "Die… if that's what you want. If you truly believe your existence has no meaning. I've thought about it myself… once or twice over the centuries, truth be told."_

_His eyes had a strangely intense look in them as he leaned forward; his serious eyes staring into her confused and scared ones. Though, he was pleased to see, there wasn't as much fear in them as there had been previously._

"_But I'll let you in on a little secret," he continued in a whisper, a smile playing about his lips as he spoke. "There is a whole world out there waiting for you. Great cities and art and music..." He broke off to run a tender hand along her forearm, the skin of his fingers just brushing her bracelet. He returned his gaze to hers. "Genuine beauty…and you could have all of it. All you have to do is ask."_

_Caroline had heard from Elena that a werewolf bite can make a vampire have hallucinations. This was probably all that this was; just her tortured mind making her see the only hope she had to live. This theory was supported by the fact that he was being nice to her, let alone saying that she only had to ask to live and he would let her. _

"_I don't want to die," she whimpered out, thinking that this was just a figment of her imagination, but she desperately wanted to tell someone. She thought that she'd feel better after doing so._

_Klaus smirked slightly, before lifting her up to him, making her wince in pain. This made her question her theory; if this was her mind playing tricks on her, then how could he touch her like this, and cause her physical pain?_

_She found herself practically lying on his lap, facing his arm that offered out to her. She could hear the rushing of blood that was underneath the skin, but it was different from the way that human blood moved. It was more chaotic, as though two oceans were colliding with one another under the thin layers of tissue. It was strange to think that what would heal her could be so easy to access. _

"_There you go," Klaus murmured softly, "Have at it, sweetheart."  
>It was so easy. All she had to do was lean forward slightly…let the fangs out…and pierce the skin. After that, the blood would flow into her mouth, the thick liquid being sickeningly sweet. It would be a different taste; werewolf and vampire into one. <em>

"_Happy birthday, Caroline..."_

* * *

><p>She was startled into consciousness as a loud thump could be felt on her bed.<p>

Quick as a flash, Caroline captured the offending person in a strong hold against the wall, before realising that it was only George. Her valet was staring at her with raised eyebrows.

"Bad dream, Miss North?" He asked, with a knowing tone to his voice. "It's sad that you feel you have to sleep on your birthday."

Caroline was breathing a little bit too heavily, and she imagined she must have appeared to be quite a sight; her hair undoubtedly ruffled due to sleep; her eyes wide and her clothes crumpled and creased.

Slowly she released her valet and flitted back over her bed; collapsing back onto the sheets.

"I'm sorry, George," she eventually said, her voice sounding further away than she was because she was facing the ceiling. "I was just really tired, and you took me by surprise."

The valet didn't question her lie, despite knowing that she wasn't telling him the truth. This was a usual procedure when it came to talking about Caroline's past.

It was a touchy subject for her, so she refrained from talking about it at the best of times. However, George was very understanding about it- having done some things in his past that he wasn't very happy with.

"Very well," he replied graciously. "I was sent to inform you that your maids are ready for you, Miss North."

Caroline sighed, knowing that the next few hours of her life were going to be hell. Why? Because she was being thrown to the wolves- specifically the wolves known as make-up artists and dress makers.

All for one stupid party that she was probably going to hate.

* * *

><p>Wine.<p>

Centuries ago, when Caroline Forbes was a young child, she'd expected wine to be delicious, and she couldn't wait to taste it.

However, when she did have her first sip, she hated it. When she became a vampire, she expected to get used to the taste of wine over time, but that never happened. She still hated it.

"Blah!" She crinkled her face as she took a sip of her glass, which contained vintage red wine. She hadn't known what liquid the golden cups had contained- she hadn't exactly committed the scent of all the different wines to memory. "God, that stuff never changes."

"Enjoying your party?" George appeared next to her at the foot of the staircase in the grand ballroom. He was dressed in a tuxedo that had blood red hems on the jacket. His tie was of the same colour.

Caroline, dressed to match George, was wearing a strapless red ball gown, the bodice being decorated with sewn-in rubies before the multiple skirts flared to the ground. Her hair was piled in curls atop her head. A stunning diamond necklace glittered against her white skin, and a diamond-encrusted bracelet was at her wrist.

She had insisted on wearing the bracelet-which was in the shape of connected little bows- because it had sentimental value. The maids had polished it and begrudgingly found other pieces of jewellery to match it.

"No, I absolutely hate it," she answered his question truthfully, shivering at the thought of going back in there where a hundred vultures were just hoping to gain her favour. Some were human, and some were vampires- she honestly didn't care. "Try measles."

"Already used that excuse at your previous birthday party," George replied with a memory as clear as crystal.

"Oh, um…What about Glandular fever?"

"Sir Roderick's Christmas Gala last winter," he replied swiftly, ever the helpful valet.

"Oh, that was last winter, I could still have it!" Caroline tried to insist, her voice nearing desperation.

"You might have to actually stay for the duration of the party, heaven forbid, Miss North," George's voice was amused, and he wasn't even bothering to hide his happiness at her discomfort.

"I really do hate you sometimes, you know?" She growled at him as she let him begrudgingly lead her through to the ballroom.

"You love me," he replied cheerfully, whilst she held onto his arm, "Okay, the first plan of attack: Dancing."

"Ew," Caroline shuddered as she thought of dancing with men that she didn't even care for. "New plan of attack: Get a drink."

Her valet sighed at her behaviour, wondering how she ever managed to convince the public that she was a socialite.

"Please make an attempt to appear to be enjoying your birthday," he advised her, "Dance with two people- it should satisfy the public."

"But Georgie…"

"Unless if you want to lose all the influence you've gained in your position?"

Caroline pouted as they entered the ballroom, and she quickly scanned the crowd for two possible dance partners that were completely boring and wouldn't try to molest her- seriously, it was surprising how many high class guys are not the gentlemen they appear to be. Of course, she could easily just compel two people to dance with her and then piss off, but she didn't see the fun In that/

"Clementine, darling," her admirer, Sir Roderick of France was suddenly in front of her, being far too close to her for her liking, "Happy Birthday. I trust you liked my gift to you?"  
>"Of course I did, thank you," Caroline, who had not touched anything he had given her, graciously replied. "Would you mind if"-<p>

"I did try to tell Cecily that you would adore it, but she thought you would have liked the gold ring, instead! Isn't that hilarious?" He laughed as though they were sharing a personal joke. "My sister thinks she knows you so well!"

Caroline, who didn't actually mind Cecily, bit back a scathing 'So do you!' and instead smiled at him.

"Cecily is a friend of mine," she replied, hiding the tightness in her voice. She focused on his eyes and felt the confidence that came with compelling someone rise in her. "Now why don't you go over and dance with Lady Renee?"

"I think I'll go dance with Lady Renee," Roderick repeated, the dilation in his pupils telling Caroline that it had worked.

"You do that," she agreed as he wished her a happy birthday once more and wandered off to be someone else's pest.

"Was that really necessary?" George, ever her conscious, asked from her side.

"It was Roderick," she replied with a shudder, "Of course it was necessary."

"You know, I've been hearing rumours that he seems to think that he's courting you," George informed her, making her blood run cold. "Lady Cecily was only earlier saying that you were soon to be her sister-in-law."

Caroline gagged at the thought of being Roderick's wife- great, it was her birthday, so he was probably planning to propose to her that very night. She really was regretting coming back into the ballroom, as she wasn't in much of a mood to reject a proposal and a ring-

A ring.

Roderick had bought her a silver ring for her birthday.

And she said she loved it.

"Oh god, did I just accept his marriage proposal?" She hissed to herself in horror. George, having heard her previous conversation, chuckled to himself.

"I think going over to him and setting things straight would be the best course of action," he wisely advised her.

"Oh god, I need a drink!" she gasped and she released his arm and headed for the bar.

* * *

><p>"Hi, one martini, please?" She asked the bar tender behind the counter. "Can I have an umbrella in it please?"<p>

"What a great way to ruin a birthday," she muttered bitterly, thinking of stupid Roderick and his stupid delusions that she might actually like his company. She started to wonder if she should just leave the party- not give anybody an excuse, but just-

Then she saw him.

The familiar smirk still placed on his lips as he gazed at her over his glass of scotch. God, why did all the bad guys seem to like that drink?

It was the man that had made her friends' lives hell all those years ago. The man who had ruined her relationship with a boy she had loved. The man who had saved her life one thousand years ago.

"Klaus."

He gave her that infuriating smirk and raised his glass to her.

"Hello, love," he replied in his thick, now pretty rare to find, British accent. "Happy Birthday."

**Please review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I was absolutely astounded by the number of reviews and alerts I got for this! I'm very happy, though :) Thank you for all the people who reviewed :)**

**Sorry to those people who liked George as he's not in this chapter- it's pure Klaroline :)**

* * *

><p>Caroline Forbes was frozen solid; not knowing what she should say- what she <em>could<em> say without being killed by the Original Hybrid in front of her.

Her memory was crystal clear; she remembered everything he had done to her friends. So what was he doing at her birthday party? Was he here to kill her?  
>"One martini for the birthday girl!" The bartender passed her the previously ordered drink and wished her a happy birthday once more before going to attend to another's orders.<p>

She gripped the martini tightly and held it out in front of her chest as though it were a shield from the hybrid she was facing.

Klaus smirked at her behaviour and took a sip from his glass of scotch; his eyes never leaving hers in the meantime.

"Why don't you take a seat, love?" He gestured to the empty stool in front of him with his hand that wasn't occupied by his cup.

She gulped- probably visibly, because his smirk seemed to widen- but she was feeling herself starting to become a little unfrozen.

"Look, I'm not really in a mood to deal with anyone at the moment," she slowly replied, summoning all the courage she had. Despite being a thousand years old, even vampires know their superiors; it was no secret that Klaus could rip out her heart without blinking. "Let alone you."

"Ouch; that was harsh," he was grinning at her obvious discomfort, "I thought you, of all people, would have remembered what I am capable of when I get…upset."

The unspoken threat was there; lingering in the air and causing the girl to shiver as she recalled all too well what he was 'capable of.' The hybrid noticed her increased level of fear and he chuckled quietly.

"Do take a seat," he repeated, once again gesturing to the stool, and his teeth flashing quickly as he grinned. "I insist."

Reluctantly, she slumped down on the bar stool and regarded Klaus like a mouse would to a cat. This particular feline, however, was not as predictable as the usual cat- you weren't sure whether he was going to kill you or not.

Sure, Klaus had a thing for birthdays, but that didn't necessarily mean that he would look past murder if she upset him enough.

"So," the hybrid broke her worried silence with his voice; making her jump in her seat. He smirked; seemingly pleased with the effect he was having on her. "How has life treated you, 'Miss North?'" His voice was laced with heavy sarcasm as he pronounced her fake name.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" She carefully drawled in reply, gesturing around the grandly decorated ballroom.

"Ah, yes; you're the heir to giant fortune," he was mocking her- that much was obvious. "And yet, sweetheart; you don't seem to much enjoy the parties." He tilted his head in curiosity at her terribly-concealed dislike of the ball.

Caroline desperately tried to hide her grimace; she didn't want Klaus to know anymore about her than necessary- otherwise, he could get to her more than he already was. Due to his annoyingly triumphant smirk, the girl knew that she'd failed.

"Ugh, who would like them?" She groaned; after sighing in defeat, of course. "They're noisy and full of snobby people who only want to suck up to you to earn favour- and yet, even if you don't like them; you're forced to invite them to another ball later on!" Then a thought occurred to her. "Hang on- why are you at my party anyway?"  
>The hybrid shrugged and grinned mischievously, as he downed his glass of scotch and swiftly ordered another.<p>

"We have a habit of gate-crashing big parties like this," he explained amiably, his accent drawing out the sound of his vowels.

Caroline raised her eyebrows at his words.

"We?" She repeated appraisingly; wondering who else had snuck into her birthday party. The hybrid smiled cheerfully as the concern in her voice before putting her out of her misery.

"Oh, just Rebekah and Elijah," he replied lightly, turning his gaze away momentarily to gaze at the ballroom.

Caroline was frozen once more, and could barely hold her drink-which she hadn't taken a sip of- as she stared agape at the hybrid.  
>"Just?" She repeated incredulously. "I have three dangerous Original Vampires running around at my birthday party- <em>which<em> is full of innocent humans!" She sank down deeper into her chair and contemplated just flitting up to her nice, warm bed. "Do you understand how anything bad that will happen is going to reflect on _my_ public image?"

She sighed, knowing that the Originals could care less about her 'public image' and would easily go and murder a few people. Well, Elijah might be caring enough to be inconspicuous, but her birthday was officially ruined by the sudden appearance of her former nemesis and co.  
>Klaus smirked at her behaviour, knowing that her magnified worry would be driving her insane. He really was a sadist at heart- he just made his sadism subtle.<p>

"Please; I'm a _hybrid_, love" he sipped his scotch once more; letting the smirk return to his lips. "Relax; we fed before we came here," he assured her; putting her out of her misery. She gave him a death glare, but he paid it no heed. "Though… I do see quite a few tempting veins out there."  
>Caroline sighed in defeat; knowing that the hybrid was using her discomfort for his entertainment; and that he wouldn't let her go that easily if she tried to run to her bed.<p>

"What do you want?" She asked in a flat tone; knowing that the hybrid was kind of black-mailing her: Do what I ask and my siblings won't wreck havoc on your party. Swell.

Klaus smiled, pleased that she had figured out his intentions. With one final sip, he downed his scotch; and relished in the after-taste it left in his mouth. He approached Caroline- who was trying to contain her nervousness- and held out his arm to her.

"A dance," he replied; taking pleasure in the way her eyes widened in fear and in the acceleration of her heartbeat as she contemplated what ulterior motive he held.

"I'm not dancing with"-He inclined his head as his eyes hooded over with a hidden threat visible only to the girl in front of him. "Fine. Just let me finish my drink."

"You haven't started your drink, love," he smugly stated; his expression telling her that he was fully aware of the fact that she was hesitant to do anything around him for fear of embarrassment. "But, you can take your time."

Caroline pulled a face and decided to childishly stick her tongue out at him (A\N: the ultimate comeback ^-^), but this only served to heighten his level of amusement.

God, she wished she could be strong enough to throw him and all his siblings out of her house. She wished she could get out of the conversation between her and the hybrid. She wished she wouldn't have to let down a poor admirer later that night.

She also wished she had tasted a martini before.

"Blah!" She gagged on the liquid in her mouth; absolutely disgusted by its taste; and poked herself in the eye with the umbrella sticking out of the rim of the cup. "Ow!"

Klaus was laughing at her misfortune; which only pissed her off even further.

"Love, you might want to actually taste a martini before you decide that it's your birthday drink," the hybrid chuckled leaning his arms back against the bar counter.

Caroline, who was only just recovering from the ache in her eye, was trying to prevent herself from glaring daggers at him.

"Shut up; I wanted to try something new, okay?" She hissed angrily at him, "Besides, I wanted a cute Hawaiian umbrella in my drink!"

"I don't think you want one anymore, love," he replied, amused as he gestured to her now recovered eye. He sighed as he slid off the bar counter and offered his arm out to her again. "Since you won't need that drink, anymore; I believe we were about to dance?"  
>Caroline scowled to herself for forgetting that. She should have sucked it up and had the drink- but then, of course, she probably would have thrown up on the ground. Not a pretty sight for a birthday party. Begrudgingly she took the hybrid's outstretched arm with her own and let him lead her onto the dance floor.<p>

A perfect tune for a waltz was playing as Klaus rested his right arm at the girl's hip and his other was clasping Caroline's hand. They starting to gently move to the beat; the vampire following the hybrid as he led the movements. Caroline was grimacing every few seconds at the after-taste that her vile drink had left in her mouth, but her dance partner paid that no heed.

"You're one thousand years old," Klaus commented; giving them a firm grasp on the obvious as they moved in time with the other couples. "You're officially an old lady, love."

Caroline tried to shrug, but it was pretty hard; as she was focusing on moving properly, but she hoped the hybrid understood what she was doing; otherwise they'd be having a one-sided conversation.

"Oh, it didn't feel like it," she told him truthfully, "I've decided that a thousand years for a human officially equals one long year for a vampire."

Klaus smirked at her announcement, which made her feel foolish. She assumed his next comment was going to include how she was arrogant for assuming she knew how it felt to be old.

"Congratulations on being one year old then, love," he told her, lifting her hand slightly in a mock victory gesture. Caroline could feel her lips twitch at his words.

"And you for being two years old," she replied, returning his gesture; though she managed to bump into the nearest couple by doing so. After swiftly apologising, she returned to the conversation. "They say that, during the double digits, that's when you really start to hit your stride."

"You know, love," Klaus replied with a smug smirk on his face, "That was an extremely sexual innuendo."

Caroline flushed immediately at his words. She was most certainly not a virgin, but Klaus always gave her a feeling of being inferior- and with that came innocence.

Now, over the years, the vampire had managed to develop a well-honed sense of wit; so she already had a number of excellent come-backs in her repertoire. She chose the best one that she could think of.

"You're a sexual innuendo," she pathetically retorted.

"I think I'll take that as a compliment, love," he replied, deeply amused at her behaviour.

Oh god, she thought desperately to herself, somebody get me the hell out of here! Before Klaus decides to murder me, preferably!

And then, right on cue, the hybrid and the vampire bumped into an annoyed couple. Caroline saw that it was Sir Roderick of France and Lady Renee of Spain; looking outraged until the Frenchman saw his source of admiration.

"Clementine, darling," he exclaimed upon seeing her, "Your valet told me that you had left because you were ill!"

"I decided to come back," Caroline politely replied, whilst mentally thanking George for his efforts. "It would be such a waste."

Roderick had released Lady Renee's arm in favour of stepping closer to Caroline and holding his hand out for her to take.

"Then my I have this dance?" He tried to give her a sultry look, but only succeeded in making the vampire feel bile in her throat. Behind the Frenchman, the Spaniard looked mortally offended.

"Actually, Sir Roderick," Caroline protested as carefully as she could. "This dance is already taken."

It was only then that her admirer acknowledged the hybrid's presence. The human turned to him with a very pompous air and gave the vampire\werewolf the head-to-toe survey.

"Sir Roderick of France," The Frenchman introduced himself snobbishly, "You wouldn't mind if I were to take over with the Lady of North?"

"Lord Niklaus of Wales," the hybrid replied appraisingly, and shifted so that he and the blonde vampire were a bit too close for her liking. "And, as you see, I would mind."

Caroline felt herself mentally jump with glee as Roderick went a very abnormal shade of purple. Of course, this happiness was soon doused by his next words.

"Ah, but you see; I have the right to claim this dance," the human smiled self-satisfactorily as he winked at Caroline, "Due to the fact that the Lady of North is soon to be the Lady of France."

The vampire gagged, and Klaus raised his eyebrows at her. She bit her lip in worry and made her glaze over in pleading.

"Help me…" She whispered in self-hate, knowing that Klaus would hear her words.

"Magic word, love?"

"Please…" She spitefully muttered, whilst sending daggers at her dance partner. Turning back to Roderick, she prepared herself to fully reject the Frenchman- or, at least, compel him.

"Look, Roderick; I can't marry you," she confessed, feeling terrible as the Frenchman's expression turned shocked.

"But…the ring," he slowly said, and Caroline knew that her suspicion had been correct.

"I just thought that it was a nice gift!" She replied, pretending to have actually seen the ring at all. "But I cannot marry you."

"Ah, is this about Lady Renee?" He gestured to the mortified and discarded Spaniard lady. "Because I assure you; she is just a fling-absolutely nothing compared to you, my dear."

The lady gasped in horror, and opened her mouth to speak, but Caroline beat her to it.

"No! How dare you?" She frowned at him in deep disapproval. "Besides that's not why. I can't marry you because…Um, well…uh"-

"She cannot marry you," Klaus interrupted, smirking smugly at the astonished Roderick, "Because she is already my wife."

**Please review; I hoped you enjoyed :)**


	3. Chapter 3

** Back again :) HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY :)**

**Yet again, I am absolutely astounded by how many people reviewed and alerted! It was so motivating :) Thank you for that :) I** **hope you enjoy this well-deserved chapter...**

* * *

><p>Caroline balked as she took in the hybrid's words. Everyone within hearing range had stopped dancing in shock; causing the waltzing couples to have to stop and be informed of the news. All around her, she could hear the astonished whispers of people and the rumours that were now being circulated.<p>

She whipped her head around to stare incredulously at Klaus; a few of her blonde curls slipping out of her numerous ruby clips as she did so. The hybrid smirked back at her smugly as she struggled to gain her composure.

"Oh, you're married?" Lady Renee gushed happily at her, and the vampire suspected that the Spaniard was satisfied that the Frenchman would not be getting his way with the blonde. "Congratulations! When do we expect children?"  
>Marriage?<p>

_Children?_

"_We are _not_ married_!" She screeched loudly, clenching the fabric of her scarlet dress in her hands so tightly it would undoubtedly be creased.  
>Their audience had confused expressions on their faces at her outburst, and Caroline immediately regretted her rash behaviour. Now they'll think that she was two-timing with Roderick and Klaus. How's that for public image?<p>

"What I meant was…"She slowly stumbled for words, wondering how she could correct what the soon-to-be murdered hybrid had announced thoughtlessly. "Well"-

"_Alright_; we're engaged," Klaus yet again interrupted her. Caroline nearly attacked him just so that she'd be able to shut him up. Oh, she was already planning his torture; knock him out somehow and then force him to drink martinis!

Roderick was looking mortified and betrayed, and the girl was worried that, if she didn't correct this mistake, she might have a war on her hands. Country disputes have been started over less!

"_In a relationship_," she firmly corrected- deciding that it was a suitable excuse for the situation. Of course, she would have much rather compelled the Frenchman to forget what had been said, but then there would be too many other people to compel. And all of it was the stupid hybrid's fault.

"The wedding is next month," Klaus contradicted her; infuriating her further as he dug _her_ hole much deeper. The crowd was murmuring in confusion, wondering what the blonde vampire's relationship status actually was.

"We're in a public acquaintanceship!" Caroline hissed in reply; addressing the hybrid much more then the audience- as if daring the creature to challenge her (Even if the hybrid would easily defeat her in any type of challenge…).

Roderick hurriedly grasped the vampire's hand at her latest words, and Caroline immediately knew she'd made another mistake in her brash behaviour.

"Well, then you can be my wife!" The Frenchman exclaimed happily, tugging her gently to indicate that she should follow him back into the midst of the dance floor. She quickly snatched her hand back and inched a bit closer to the hybrid so that it would be invading the werewolf\vampire's personal space to touch Caroline.

"It's more a _private_ public acquaintanceship," she assured him, her voice slightly airy as the vampire began to feel light-headed due to nausea at her current predicament. She wished that George was with her- now that Klaus was here, she was beginning to feel like a baby vampire again and only her trusty valet would be capable of returning her to a good composure.

"Oh, my _love_ only jests," the hybrid assured the crowd, manipulating them like puppets with his sugar-coated voice. "We're in a _lovely_ relationship; it really isn't that important. Don't let us interrupt you from your enjoyable evening: Please, return to your dancing."

The crowd started to melt to his request, and the couples started to fall back in time with the waltz music and began to manoeuvre their way around the three people who stood still in the middle of the dance floor (Lady Renee had left to go dance with some Peruvian chap). The Frenchman was barely managed to contain his dislike for the hybrid, who just smiled smugly at him.

Caroline was fretting; there were going to numerous rumours about how she had two men vying for her hand in marriage, but she just wanted to scream out that it wasn't true. She was repulsed by Roderick, and she would rather take a stake through the heart before she'd want Klaus. Actually, dying seemed like one of the only ways out of the situation.

Caroline sighed in exasperation and turned her gaze to Roderick; once more letting the power of compulsion surge through her as she entrapped the Frenchman's eyes with her will. Beside her, she heard the hybrid chuckle, but she paid it no heed- deciding to deal with him later.

"Listen to me; you do not love me," she told him matter-of-factly, shaking her head slightly to back up her words. "You love…" After a quick scan around the room for single women, she returned to her compelling, "Lady Sara of Italy." She sent a mental apology to the Italian women who would soon be dealing with a lot of problems.

"I love Lady Sara of Italy," he repeated dully, before cheering up, turning on his heels and practically frolicking through the crowd to wherever the poor lady was.

As soon as he was out of range, Caroline whipped back around to see an amused Klaus chuckling at her desperation, but she gripped his arm and dragged back to the bar where they wouldn't be easily overheard. Sure, the hybrid could have easily gotten away, but he was obviously entertained by the way she thought she could scold him.

"I asked you to help me!" She hissed as soon as they arrived at the counter, her hand still harshly gripping the hybrid's wrist in what she considered painful, but what he probably thought tickled. She was slightly dishevelled, but it was only visible to those who were better at observation then most.

The hybrid swiftly ordered more scotch and leant back languidly against the golden coloured bar counter as he belatedly ignored the appalled vampire. Dressed in a tuxedo that was obviously tailored because it fit so well, he was infuriating the blonde girl even further because the both of them actually dressed to appear in the same social class- meaning that it was extremely easy for onlookers to mistake the two of them as a couple.

"Hey!" She slapped his hand to get his attention; her anger giving her courage that she would never have exhibited when calm. "I'm talking to you!"

"The fool's gone isn't he, love?" Klaus turned his head with his smirk on his lips; deliberately driving her up the wall.  
>"Well, yes but"-<p>

"I classify that as help, sweetheart," he interrupted her, knowing he was grating on her last nerve, but it would be so frustrating for the blonde vampire because she wasn't able to lash out at him due to the fact that it would reflect terribly on her image, and because the hybrid wouldn't hesitate to hit her back harder.

"But everyone thinks you're my boyfriend!" Caroline tried to keep the whine out of her voice- she didn't want to appear childish and immature- but she failed miserably.

The hybrid received his alcoholic drink and managed to retain his smirk as he sipped it, annoyingly taking his time to reply to the vampire who was bordering on derision. Finally, he placed his glass back down onto the counter as he tilted his curiously at the blonde.

"Is that such a terrible thing, love?" He asked slowly, his expression surprisingly solemn as he evaluated her. Caroline was slightly taken aback by his sudden change of demeanour that she hesitated before answering.  
>"Well…yes."<p>

The hybrid raised his head, as though he was stiffening because he heard an answer he didn't want to hear. Caroline began to think that maybe he actually wanted her to-

"Did you hear that, everyone?" He yelled, casting her a smug smirk as he attracted the attention of the dancers. "She said yes! We're getting married!"

The clapping and cheers of the audience erupted around the ballroom; those who had not heard the hybrid's announcement quickly learning of it. Caroline was standing frozen, her mouth agape as Klaus freed his arm from her grasp and wound it around her waist in what probably appeared to be an intimate gesture, but it only served as a warning to the vampire.

She was terrified of the situation, and opened her mouth to let out a soundless scream, and her lips continued to move as if trying to frame words that could get her out of this.

The hybrid was watching her reaction with great amusement; chuckling at her impersonation of a fish. He also was satisfied with how scared she was of both him (or, at least, she was intimidated) and how her public image would be affected.

He thought she needed to relax a little. He was only joking, after all.

"Rebekah, you need to behave," Elijah warned his sister, who was eying every passing human with relish as they entered the ballroom. "This is a public event; people _do_ notice when their friends suddenly vanish."

The girl pouted before smiling mischievously at her brother; who was her escort at this dance. Looking very prim and intelligent; the black-haired vampire was dressed in a tuxedo that nearly matched his brother's but the vampire's had a dark green tie and hem. Rebekah-matching Elijah- had a moss green dress on; the hem a frilly shade of darker emerald that fell to above her knee. Her hair was straightened and fell about her shoulders, whilst her neck and ears were adorned with glittering crystals.

"Oh, come on, Elijah," she replied mischievously, poking her brother lightly on his forearm. "Don't be such a worry-wart; you're ruining a perfectly good evening."  
>Her brother frowned as he thought about his sister's definition of a good evening. It certainly didn't match his.<p>

"All I'm saying, Rebekah," he sighed with exasperation, running his free hand through his ebony hair, "Is that humans are much more suspicious about our existence now. One wrong step and we'll have a civilisation of hunters on our hands!"

"Please," his sister shook her head proudly, watching as a few nearby men stopped in their tracks to look at her. "You act like we wouldn't be able to take them."

"Not if they find the daggers," Elijah solemnly replied, making his sister pause for a moment.

"Klaus hid them," she confidently said, but there was a tone to her voice that was a little too bright; a tone that contradicted what she had said. "We wouldn't be in any danger."

Elijah remained silent; knowing that her trust in the hybrid was false. Klaus wouldn't exterminate them, but he wouldn't hesitate to put them into a neutralized state if there was any sign of impending betrayal.

"Speaking of our brother," he changed the subject deliberately, "Where has he gone off to?"  
>Rebekah focused on her magnified hearing, and sifted through the various sections of the party until she found the sound of her brother's voice. She could hear a girl talking to him, and she sounded familiar, but Rebekah didn't really care to recognise her.<p>

"He's over by the bar," she reported to Elijah, who sighed and said that they'd better head over to him. They started to make their way around the crowd, politely pushing aside people who obstructed their path.

"Who is he talking to?" The serious one asked in mild curiosity. His sister's hearing was a little bit better than his, but he was still very easily able to pick up his brother's voice and conversation.

"I don't know," Rebekah shrugged, not caring, "He's probably just grabbing a 'meal'."

The siblings stopped short, however when they started to listen to the conversation with a little more interest.

"But everyone thinks that you're my boyfriend!" There was an obvious whine to the girl's voice, and Elijah managed to get the hint of an accent that centred around America a thousand years earlier- indicating that she was probably a vampire.

"Is that such a terrible thing, love?" He heard Niklaus reply, seemingly serious, but Elijah was able to identify that his brother had a plan.

"Well…Yes," the voice seemed to spark a memory in both of the Original vampires, one of a quiet little town called Mystic Falls from so many years ago.

They both moved faster through the crowd and came into an open space surrounding the hybrid and other vampire just as Klaus dropped the bombshell.

"Did you hear that, everyone?" The hybrid raised his voice loudly, attracting the attention of the entire room, "She said yes! We're getting married!"  
>The Original siblings stood shocked as they took in the sight of their amused brother wrapping his arm around a terrified blonde vampire that they remembered from before the Earth's apocalypse.<p>

Their brother…was getting married…to Caroline Forbes?  
>For the first time in centuries; the Original vampires were left speechless.<p>

**Please review :) I know some people will be thinking; Oh, they should realise it's just a ploy, but they notice that there's something different about their brother. No, it's most certainly NOT love, but more an interest in Caroline because she feisty and he'll consider her a great amount of entertainment. Of course, this will be at her public misfortune, though. But she'll start to get her revenge next chapter...Wait and see haha :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Caroline Forbes stormed out of the ballroom; her hands gripping the scarlet coloured material of her dress in her hands to help her feet move quicker. The rustling of her skirts and her angry huffing was the only sound that she dared omit as she hurried towards her hopeful escape via the staircase.

As she trod on the first step, however, she realised that her plan was futile in the current location. Partygoers who had grown tired of dancing had relocated to the staircase to chat with a little less noise around them. They immediately noticed their dishevelled host, who was frozen like a deer in a car's headlights- not that the world had any use for cars anymore.

The vampire flinched as they simultaneously burst into a chorus of congratulations and good wishes; repeating words that she had heard too many times that night. She tried to manipulate her features into something that could possibly resemble a smile- though she probably only managed to create some sort of twisted grimace of exasperation- and attempted to disguise the sigh of annoyance that exited her sore mouth by laughing weakly.

She made the conversation as brisk as possible and hurriedly excused herself at the first opportunity; muttering something about needing to begin work on a guest list and gathered her skirts as she rushed in the opposite direction: The front door. If she couldn't escape to her bedroom, she'd escape to somebody else's.

Unfortunately, her plan was foiled by her determinedly set head colliding with a painfully hard chest, causing her to give a comical 'oof' sound. Her annoyance began to shine through as she scowled viciously up at the offending blockade, before wiping all anger away from her expression as she realised that it was only George; her valet.

"Apologies, Miss North," He gave her a customary but slightly mocking bow as the girl contained her building anger and hurried to compose herself in the presence of, not only her butler, but other innocent bystanders who all eagerly wanted to get a glance at the future wife of the Lord of Wales. "I did not realise you were in such a hurry."

Caroline smiled, unable to take out her fury on her long time butler and friend. She wondered whether he had heard any of the rumours about her and a certain British hybrid, but then she shook her head to berate her for her foolishness. He would, undoubtedly, have heard many things floating around about her at the moment, but he would always demand to hear the story from her before he set about judging the situation.

"I don't feel well," she replied, lying so that any eavesdroppers would not pick up on any vampiric references in her words. Now _that_ would create quite the rumour amongst the public. With her powerful hearing, she was easily able to hear the little gasps and whispers of aforementioned eavesdroppers; most of them were simply hiding behind the screens that lined against the walls to give servants some privacy as they moved from room to room.

George was able to pick up on her lie immediately and raised his eyebrows at her, the question apparent in his gaze. She pursed her lips in reply; the simply gesture of turned her mouth into a forced creamy white was all she needed to convey her anger to her friend. The valet tilted his head upright in acknowledgement to her feelings, and offered a hand to her; silently indicating that there would be space to talk freely outside.

She curled her arm around his and they proceeded to turn towards the main door, making Caroline breathe a small sigh of relief. She would now have a few spare moments where she would not be hearing the shrill shrieks of heart-broken fan girls or the congratulations of complete strangers hoping to wriggle their way into her good books.

However, just before her painfully manicured fingers touched the classically varnished wood of her main doors, another hand; just as cosmetically perfected as her own, tapped her gently on the forearm; requesting an audience.

Caroline grimaced to herself, but whirled around with a silent huff to meet the gaze of a female aristocrat; her appearance being just a year or two below the physical age of the blonde.

The girl was a vampire and was currently in the 'I'm invincible' faze of her undead life. It was obvious that she was a baby; everything from her too heavy make-up to her harshly straightened black hair reeked of humanity. That was going to get her killed, one day.

"You must be Lady Clementine," the baby said snobbishly as her way of greeting; a gloved hand coming to rest just above her too-exposed chest. "I am Princess Eva of Germany, but, of course, you knew that."

"Ah, of course," Caroline replied, nodding politely as a gesture for the young vampire to continue, despite knowing that she would anyway.

"I just wanted to tell you that, just because the…absolutely dashing Lord of Wales has taken an interest in you," the dainty woman condescendingly told her, her voice pausing as she contemplated what words she could use to best describe the hybrid, "Does not mean that you actually deserve him."

With her powerful hearing, the older vampire was able to hear the surprised gasps and eager whispers of what was undoubtedly the Princess' cohort of young changelings. With the hushed support of her confrontation, the black-haired girl placed a confident smirk on her lips that the blonde was looking forward to wiping off.

"And you're pathetic enough to believe that you are any better than me?" Caroline replied smoothly, her head tilting as she stared at the girl with what appeared to be wonder or arrogance, but the blonde hoped that it was coming across as a mixture of both.

The Princess grinded her teeth in annoyance; the sound only being audible to Caroline's powerful hearing, but the German seemed to be too young to be able to identify other vampires.

"I don't think that you understand," the black-haired royal smiled icily, her eyes dilating as she prepared to 'compel' the thousand-year-old vampire. Nobody had ever tried to compel the blonde once she had turned; it was like she held a giant shield; she felt a prickle of miniscule power poke weakly at her barrier of vampirism, but it obviously did no good. The German didn't seem to realise her power was ineffectual.  
>"You do not deserve the Lord Niklaus of Wales," Eva intoned foolishly. "You will not try to pursue him, and you will immediately call off this ridiculous engagement. You will also recommend the Princess Eva of Germany to him, as she is much more his type than you are."<p>

Caroline played along for a moment, repeating the other's words flatly, and swayed gently like a zombie before the young vampire clicked her finger with an air of satisfaction. The blonde pretended to snap out of a trance and blinked in confusion for a few seconds before turning to her dutifully silent butler.

"If you can excuse me for a moment, George," she addressed her butler, before walking purposefully towards the doors that would take her to the ballroom. On her way, she 'appeared' to notice the other member of her audience. "Oh; good evening, Princess Eva."

Aforementioned Princess smiled politely at her, before turning to the blonde girl's butler; obviously preparing to erase his memory of the previous events. Before she had the chance, however, she found herself lifted off the ground.

Her body was carelessly slammed into the nearby wall, making the royal gasp in surprise and pain at having the wind knocked out of her. The blonde vampire harshly threw the baby into the marble surface once more; this time holding her up so that she could glare into her victim's confused and terrified eyes.

"But- I-I compelled you!"The German stuttered in amazement: the idea of struggling against her bonds-which would have been silly- not even occurring to her. "Go do your job!"

Caroline smirked, calling upon her mean girl behaviour to scare off the arrogant royal from making any more mistakes in her life. Behind her, she could hear the cohort of eavesdroppers hurrying to attack the blonde, and then having their path's obstructed by the interference of George; whose vampiric expression was enough to intimidate the meanest changeling.

"You foolish bitch," Caroline snarled, letting her eyes contort into an emotionless black glare of anger and hissing through her sharp fangs that pressed against the crest above her chin. "I have a thousand years on you, little baby. I strongly recommend that you watch your step around me from now on, because I will not hesitate to rip your heart out and shove it down throat before you can blink!"

The young vampire gulped and began to pant as Caroline snaked her hand around the German's throat. The blonde squeezed harshly causing the other to gasp for air and claw at the older one's strong fingers. Caroline smiled benignly for a moment before leaning in close.

"Don't test me," she whispered as a warning. Recalling her earlier feeling when it came to being compelled as a vampire, she decided to test something. She called upon the power of compulsion and summoned as much of it as possible and allowed her eyes to dilate. "You will not remember this at all; the very notion of trying to compel me to break of my engagement with Klaus has never even crossed your mind. When asked by your sired vampires, you will simply say that the idea was silly."

Caroline's eyes widened slightly as she felt her power of compulsion breaking through the shield of Eva's vampirism, and she immediately pried her hands away from the girl's pale neck. The command went straight to the other's mind, forcing the royal to act upon it. The victim repeated the order, and blinked several times as she snapped out of the trance.

"Lady Clementine?" The German frowned in confusion as she took in the appearance of her audience. "I feel quite faint…it's very strange. Oh! Congratulations, Clementine! You and the Lord of Wales will make a beautiful couple."

Caroline concealed her flinch of annoyance, and idly thought that she preferred the bitchy version of the royal, but smiled politely, nonetheless.

"Thank you, Princess," she replied cordially, knowing that the German had not finished speaking. God, the German was worse than her!

"I must warn you, however," Eva predictably continued, pursing her lips as though she were about to reveal a social secret. "Many ladies of the world are not exactly pleased with your recent news, so they might try to sabotage it whenever possible. I mean, it's the Lord of Wales! He does have a large number of fan girls, does he not?"

Caroline sighed in exasperation, before an idea occurred to her. Klaus had humiliated her all evening…perhaps it was time to return the gracious favour.

She smiled charmingly at the girl and stepped closer so that she could be in a closer range of human hearing.

"He does have lots of fan girls," she gushed like any other love-struck socialite. "I mean, it's practically miraculous that he chose me, isn't it?"

"Yes; miraculous," the German repeated almost coldly, showing that she hadn't adjusted to the idea of concealing her emotions.

"I mean, he is so romantic!" The blonde girl continued cheerfully, practically laughing at the idea of Klaus being romantic. She stepped closer to the royal and yet again summoned the power of her compulsion to wield against the other. "I need you to do something for me."

* * *

><p>Princess Eva strolled off into the ballroom prior to Caroline's order, and the blonde turned to her butler, who was currently waiting patiently for his lady to finish her business.<p>

"A job well done, Lady Clementine," he complimented, leaning off the wall so that they may continue on their walk through the garden.

"Well, you weren't too shabby, either," Caroline returned the favour as she noticed that George had fought at least five young vampires and still didn't have a single drop of blood on him. The blonde, however, had a few streaks on her arms of the German's blood. She hurriedly licked it off and grimaced at the taste. "God, I hate babies."

"The last time I saw you, Caroline Forbes," a voice drawled through the large hallway, causing both of the vampires to whirl around in the direction of it. "You were one."

Rebekah Mikaelson stood in front of them, her arms in a model-like pose, and she wore the obviously hereditary cross between a smirk and a grin. She flitted closer to the other blonde but was distracted by the appearance of George, who moved quickly to put himself between the two. The Original eyed him up and raised her eyebrows.

"Aren't you a handsome one?" She finally said, smiling as she found the butler to be of her approval. "I would _love_ to get to know you better…"

George blinked in confusion but before he could reply, Caroline moved him out of the way so that she could speak to the Original. Said Original scowled now that her vision of her new object of attracted was being obstructed.

"What do you want, Rebekah?" Caroline asked impatiently, wanting to hurry up and get on with her walk. The Original rolled her eyes at the younger vampire's interruption but smiled nevertheless.

"I just wanted to tell you that I won't be interfering in my brother's little…fling with you," Rebekah lazily replied, flicking a piece of imaginary dirt off of her perfect ovals of fingernails. Caroline frowned, wondering why the Original was being so cheerful about the 'engagement.'

"That isn't necess"-

"Oh, and don't worry about your little compulsion secret," the blonde Original reassuringly added on to her previous comments. She turned around, her long blonde hair moving in a perfect circular motion as she threw one last wink at George. "I've never liked Eva: She's a whore."

* * *

><p>Klaus wandered over the bar, already missing the lovely, burning taste of scotch in his mouth. He beckoned the tiring barman over to him and swiftly ordered another round of his favourite alcoholic beverage.<p>

As the worker hurried to comply, the hybrid leant against the supporting bar and stool and languidly flicked his gaze around the party's ballroom filled with a majority of mortal aristocrats who were so involved in their own silly little lives to notice that they were dancing with devils.

His lips curled at the almost poetic reference he made to his kind. He had tried his hand at poetry during the fifteenth century but he found the whole thing to be a dull subject that he couldn't muster up any enjoyment for. He actually found it to be a very good excuse for terrible writers to use when they failed to print down something of interest.

Speaking of boring things, he dryly thought to himself as he saw his brother, Elijah, approaching him. He lazily toyed with the idea of flitting to the other side of the ballroom, just to annoy the uptight vampire, but he dismissed it because it meant that he would have to miss his glass of scotch which was taking an age to be delivered.

"Hello, brother," the hybrid smiled pleasantly at the vampire who sat down beside him proceeded to survey him; an act which amused the older one to no end. It was simply the thought; that Elijah could think he would be able to glean the slightest idea of what was going on inside his brother's head just made the hybrid laugh. "I see you have abandoned our dear sister. Is that wise? You do know how murderous she can get sometimes…"

Elijah opened his mouth to reply; probably with something that would have been dull and serious- which was just not the mood that Klaus was in the right state of mind to deal with at the moment. Thankfully, though, before a word could escape the black-haired original's mouth, a drink of what seemed to be a mixture of coconut and pine nuts with some sort of disgusting spirit was thrown into the hybrid's face.

Klaus spluttered attractively for a moment, before recovering and seeing an aristocrat who he vaguely recognised to be German standing in front of him with a furious glare on her face.

"I cannot believe you!" She screeched, her loud voice capturing the attention of the nearby crowd. Klaus was blinking rapidly and was trying to clear the alcoholic beverage from his eyes but he realised that his suit was a lost cause.

"I'm sorry," he slowly enunciated to what he now realised to be a baby vampire, "But you are?"

The Princess gasped in horror and whipped a hand across his face- which he easily foresaw coming but he was unable to use his speed to deflect the hit in public. He tilted his head to the side after the sharp sting had rapped his cheek. The German was shaking in anger; her fists clenched in her fashionable golden dress.

"You pig!" She shrieked loudly, stamping her foot on the ground in anger. "You said that I was going to be your wife! You two-timer!"  
>Klaus smiled as the German stormed off; knowing full well who behind his attack. He turned to his brother, who had raised eyebrows which judged his brother without even listening to the hybrid's side of the story.<p>

The Brit chuckled to himself as he took a sip of his new glass of scotch; loving the familiarity that he felt with the crinkled cup in his hand.

"Well played, love."


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed and kept my motivation up high :) It really helped me bust this chapter out :)**

**I include a fair bit of George in this one because he is going to be important later...so remember him. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter for some reason; it was very enjoyable :) Now, George DOES know Caroline's real name, and I will include a memory between them next chapter. **

**Anyway, please enjoy :) **

**DISCLAIMER: If I owned the Vampire Diaries, Tyler would die (Sorry Forwood fans) and Bonnie and Kol would get together :) **

Caroline Forbes had her arm curled gently around her butler's. On closer examination, she'd seen that the hem of her dress had been torn- possibly by the sharp heels of Princess Eva- and was now ripped beyond repair. It was such a pity, too; she really had loved that dress.

"Look on the bright side, Miss North," George cast her a sideways glance of reassurance, and the blonde girl realised that she must have spoken aloud. "With your dress in such a state of disrepair, you cannot possibly rejoin the party."

Caroline smiled happily; now thanking the German royal for having a taste for sharp-ended shoes, however strange and disgusting the blonde vampire considered them to be. The fashion of this time was able to change drastically with one celebrity's experimental wardrobe decision, and Caroline found it amusing that the German thought she had enough social power to be able to start a fad such as pointy shoes.

"I never thought of that!" She replied cheerfully, beaming down at her inappropriately torn dress that would have drawn countless numbers of shocked expressions from the fine community of upper-class New York. "Thank you, Eva!"

They laughed to themselves and proceeded to walk to the small fountain that Caroline had had installed due to the fact that she absolutely adored water features. Her favour in that particular area was probably due to the fact that she had never had anything remotely watery in her backyard in Mystic Falls- if you don't count the time it had flooded when she was in grade three. Things had gotten watery then- just not favourably so.

"Miss North?" George pulled her from her reverie with his voice, and she was startled to realise that she had been thinking of the past again- which was something that she strongly tried to avoid due to the fact that nostalgia got her feeling sick. The past always made her sad; but it was pointless to dwell on it.

"I'm fine, George," she replied, attempting to conceal the fact that she was _not_ fine. Her friend saw right through her honed skill of hiding her emotions; that was how well he knew her. And she didn't mind that he knew her to that degree; it comforted her. "No, I'm not fine. You know that."

Her butler gestured to the garden seat, which she plodded herself down upon and George shortly followed. She noticed that her gloves were ruined; stained from Eva's blood. There was another thing that the blonde could be thankful for.

"What happened, Miss North?" Her friend asked her; the concern evident in his tired voice. He had also been questioned and interrogated relentlessly throughout the night of a marriage he could not think of.

"I met somebody from my past tonight," Caroline muttered, knowing full well that George could her words with his vampiric hearing. "As in..._past_ past; before I met you."

Her valet raised his head slightly and his eyes widened at her words. Speaking of his lady's past had been clearly labelled as taboo, so George had never thought to try and uncover what had happened to his friend before they had met. He didn't even know where she had originated from- though, with an American accent, it wasn't hard to identify her country.

"The Lord Niklaus of Wales," she elaborated for him; not meeting his gaze. George stiffened, wondering what the mentioned man must have done to cause such a reaction from his long time lady and friend.

She fell silent; her minds obviously remembering that she does not talk to even her best friend about her past experiences. The blonde raised her head and plastered a smile onto her lips that had obviously been bitted numerous times due to the way there was no lipstick remaining on them.

"I'm okay," Caroline reassured her companion as she lifted her gaze and shook her head free of clumped hairs. "It was just really strange because some stuff happened between us the last time we met." The eyebrows of her butler rose impossibly high into his hairline, and the blonde's eyes widened considerably as she realised what the other must think. "Not _that_ kind of stuff! With Klaus? That's disgusting!"

Her butler raised his hands innocently and shied away from his near hysterical lady. He chuckled to himself as he waited for her to calm down, so that she could speak again. Now, George had done some pretty bad things in his past, so he understood his lady's reluctance to speak of hers to others.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he serenely reminded her, turning his gaze around quickly before spotting a nearby bush of red roses. Smiling, he flitted over and gently picked one before going back to his seat and beginning the task of ridding the green stem of its thorns. "This is for you...but I'm making it a little bit safer."  
>His lady laughed at his behaviour as he began to flick the little prickles away from the stem. She found his gesture to be rather boyish, but endearing at the same time.<p>

"You remind me of someone," she observed wistfully, blinking slowly as her eyelids began to drop with the memories washing over her of a boy who managed to remain human through the supernatural problems that were consuming the town of Mystic Falls a thousand years ago. Snapping out of such thoughts, she saw that the valet had paused in his actions to glance at her in concern. "Never mind; it's been a crazy night. Why are you taking the thorns off, anyway?" She quickly changed the subject, pointing towards the flower in her friend's hands. "It's not like they'd kill me or anything."

"That's true," George admitted, his worry now invisible to those who might have been spying on them, but to Caroline it was still as clear as day. "But you will still feel pain. I may not be as old as you, Miss North, but I know that the 'button' to your emotions works for all of a year before your control wavers and things crash down on you much harsher than they were before."

"Why are you saying this?" Caroline asked quietly, averting her gaze from his because she knew that she'd spill her guts to him if she looked. She knew he was right though; she'd tried to suppress her emotions once, but it was when she was very young, so her control was poor. Everything was much worse when she was suspect to sadness once again.

George sighed, and flicked the final prick off of the flower before turning to his charge with a smile. He'd been with her for six-hundred years, so they could read each other like open books, and the younger vampire knew that she was shaken from a 'blast from the past.' He leaned over and tenderly kissed her on the forehead like an older brother, and tucked the safe flower behind her ear; the petals having only recently come into bloom.

"Emotions can be very beautiful, Miss North," George sagely told her, standing up and bowing to her as a warning that he was about to depart. "Just don't get pricked by the thorns."

* * *

><p>Rebekah hummed a tune to herself as she sauntered cheerfully around the ballroom, winking flirtatiously at a man that had been staring at her for the duration of the dance.<p>

Target acquired, she thought with a grin as she shook her head to rid it of any knots that might have gathered and strutted over to the man who appeared to be of Russian descent.

"Hey there," she smirked at him, her words practically dripping with seduction. The man just sat there, amazed as he stuttered out a nervous reply. With a quick scan, the vampire determined that her target was a simple politician; he was replaceable...which made her desire even easier to attain. "What's the matter? Is it too..._hot_ in here for you?"

The man nodded his head furiously, as the blonde leant in brushed her hand against his neck, causing a shiver to run down his back. The vampire began to unbutton the top of his shirt and blew gently on the bare skin, letting her breath tickle on the sweating skin. She smirked as the man barely concealed a gasp and she could hear his heart pounding furiously.

"If it's too hot in here," she whispered into his ear; her fingers replacing her breath, "Than perhaps we should go _outside_."  
>The Russian's heart skipped a beat, and the vampire smirked as she saw his legs rub together as he tried to deal with a certain problem in between them. He nodded his assent up at the blonde, and he accepted her outstretched hand and followed willingly as she led him to the doors of the ballroom.<p>

* * *

><p>George walked steadily back towards the party; deciding that his charge would need some time alone to think. He knew that Caroline didn't always act the best when there hadn't been any time to consider things.<p>

As he neared the classical doors of the mansion; his eyes scanning the grounds for mischief that could ruin the party, he heard the muffled scream coming from the left. Whipping his head around in that direction, the vampire flitted over to where he guessed the sound had come from and raised his eyes at the scene that greeted him.

A man of Russian descent had lost conscious as the blonde Original vampire helped herself to his blood. The valet needed no hints as to what had happened- she'd tricked him into leaving the ballroom and then attacked him outside. Why, he'd used the ploy before himself. Humans were so starved for affection sometimes that they'd trust a complete stranger. Still, though, a death like this was going to be a blemish on Caroline's birthday, so he had to put an end to it.

He hurried forward and grasped the arm of the Original vampire, and pulled her backwards so that she let the victim go. Caught by surprise, she hurled around with a vampiric face that made the valet's blood run cold with fear. A flicker of recognition passed over her eyes, and her true face began to fade as her calm demeanour returned.

"Your Caroline's little foot soldier, right?" She asked with a flirtatious tilt to her lips as she leant to one side. "Doesn't your mistress like her guests having a few snacks here and there?"

"You were going to kill him," George flatly replied; the seductive techniques of the other vampire having no effect on him as his expression remained unresponsive. "People do notice when their friend is alive one moment, and dead the next."

"God, you sound so much like Elijah," Rebekah rolled her eyes as she recalled what her brother had told her earlier. She really didn't like how her new object of attraction was being so calm to her. That was something that definitely needed to change. "See, I have urges that I just can't control, sometimes. I mean, yes, I am two thousand years old, but I've always loved indulging on...delectable things."

"As a human, we're taught that indulging never results in anything good," George replied in a toneless voice, recognising the change in the female's mood to be one with a terrible outcome. Fortunately for him, he'd been a detective before he was a vampire, and he was well-trained in controlling his emotions and body language.

The blonde chuckled to herself before hoisting up the passed out body of her victim and reattached her lips to his neck, but George did nothing to save the good-as-dead man this time. He knew that he shouldn't push his luck with the temperamental girl. Instead, he just watched as the skin of the victim paled to a shade of ash-grey, and the veins in his neck where standing out dangerously; the last drops of blood in his system slowly being drained out of the canals.

The Original raised her head and laughed at her voyeur; and George realised with a start that his vampire face had come out at the thought of blood. He quickly shook his head to rid himself of it, but, even as his fangs sank back into his gums, he still felt the hunger. It had been so long since he'd allowed himself to lose control like that; he hadn't tasted fresh blood for years.

"Something wrong?" She asked him with a mocking edge to her smooth voice. She pushed a few strands of her long hair out of her face as they were now stained crimson. "He has a little bit more, if you want to join in on the real party." Quick as a flash, she was standing in front of him and pushing the mangled body of her victim towards her new prey.

The valet hissed at the new stench that invaded his nose: the powerful odour of fresh blood; not the dead stuff from those flimsy bags. His true form re-emerged, and he snarled as he leant down to steal the weak flicker of life from the Russian. Just as he could claim his prize, however, the blonde pulled it away from him; causing a growl to rumble in his throat as he considered how best to attack her.

"Or, better yet..." With a perfectly sharp nail, she carefully sliced open the skin on her wrist without flinching. The male was entranced by the way the folds of skin were simply pale for a few milliseconds before a flow of blood just gushed out of them suddenly. "I'd hurry up- I'll heal quicker than you would."

The smell invaded his nostrils, the scent just lulling him into a state of euphoria. He had to taste it; she was offering it on a silver platter! It didn't matter that she'd just nearly killed some poor man from the ballroom- the foolish politician should've been smarter. There was nothing stopping him from leaning down and just devouring her never-ending blood supply! Nothing but-

Caroline.

He sharply shook his head to rid himself of his features, much to the shock of his companion, and straightened up with an unreadable expression on his face. The Original raised her eyebrows at him, daring him to snap at her for trying to unhinge him, challenging him to launch himself at her with the intentions to kill. He simply pushed the outstretched wrist away from him, and dusted down the front of his jacket before turning to leave.

"Clean up your mess, will you?" The butler brusquely ordered the blonde girl, who was leaning against the wall and staring at him with something that resembled respect. She laughed out loud- the sound akin to that of a school-girl's giggle.

He didn't acknowledge her as she called out over his shoulder- though she could have stopped him if she'd wanted to.

"I meant what I said, you know," Rebekah drawled at him as he approached the door to the mansion, "You're cute."

* * *

><p>Caroline Forbes was sitting down at the edge of the fountain; watching the water sparkle in the moonlight as it fell from the high perches of the feature. She could hear the chatter of guests in the distance, and assumed the party was still going strong- indicating that there would be a few more hours to go before she could retire to her lovely bed.<p>

She sighed, picking at the rose her friend and valet had given to her and considered his advice. She knew of the sharp assault that was dealt to those who allowed their emotions to rule their actions, but that had always been the type of person that Caroline had been. A thousand years ago, she'd seen how time had warped vampires; take Katherine, for example. She probably hadn't always been as manipulative as she was when she came to Mystic Falls: Time had made her become that way. So, when Caroline had turned into a vampire, she'd decided to try to stay herself as much as possible.

The words of an enemy had made her excited about the future, but she'd known that there was no point in living those wonderful experiences she'd been promised if she was not the same person as before. George had helped her there: She'd rediscovered her humanity with his help. That wasn't to say that she'd been a monster prior to that; she had just been...depressed. Everything she'd known had eventually left the world, and everything had felt grey.

"That's enough of that," Caroline scolded herself harshly, giving her hand a sharp hit- though she barely felt any pain from it. Shaking her head, the vampire quickly rid herself of any thoughts of her life a thousand years ago. Despite the aching feeling in her stomach, there was no point thinking about it now. It's not like there was anything she could do to change it.

Instead, the blonde turned her attention towards her appearance. There was absolutely no way that she could return to the ballroom- not that she wanted to- and it was going to be extremely hard to escape to her bedroom if partygoers were still on the staircase. She'd probably just have to run through the kitchen and hope that the cook- lovely old lady, she was- didn't have a fit at the state of her dress.

The vampire let a smile cross her lips at the thought of how her plan must have transpired. She wished she could have been there to see the hybrid's face, but he probably knew that she was responsible anyway, so it wouldn't have been good if she'd been present. Besides...it was still worth it knowing that he was probably soaked!

"_You ruined my hairstyle, love_," Caroline laughed as she impersonated her enemy; dropping her voice comically low and enunciating 'love' with a rise of her voice. She giggled to herself; not even realising that her source of entertainment was standing right behind her.

"Not a hairstyle," Klaus contradicted her words, smirking with smug satisfaction as he caught the girl off-guard (she even jumped!). "But you do owe me a new suit."

The blonde whipped around to face him, her expression a mixture between horror-stricken and embarrassment. Her cheeks were bright red at being caught, and she was doing a marvellous impersonation of a fish with her lips. The hybrid regarded her with amusement, before the vampire snapped out of her shock and angrily gestured to her own appearance.

"Well, you owe me a new dress!" She retorted snobbishly, turning her head away from him and looking at her rose instead. She decided that the flower was a much nicer thought. Finally, though, she peeked under her shoulder to view the stained and ripped suit. Eva's cohorts must have had a go at the hybrid in defence for their mistress. The very thought made her release a giggle that reached the ears of her enemy, who raised his eyebrows in response. "Just think; if only I hadn't humiliated Caroline! I'd still have a suit."

"Oh, I still have plenty of suits," the hybrid replied smoothly, as he began to remove his black jacket. It was dotted with suede patterns of white that looked like something the party guests would consider to be highly inappropriate. No wonder the Brit had left the ballroom. "And besides, if worst comes to worst, I'll just borrow one of Rebekah's dresses."

A smile poked at Caroline's lips before she ripped it off with a snarl. She flitted over to the hybrid, who remained where he was; clearly unaffected by the sudden change in attitude of the vampire. Her true face had emerged, and her lips were pulled back in anger as she bared her fangs bravely at him.

"Caroline, don't let a thousand years make you foolish," Klaus tilted his head and his eyes hooded over as he let the ounce of a threat seep into his tone. "You know that I can rip you to shreds, if I wish."

"And you know that nothing has changed, Klaus," she growled at him, every inch of her face screaming anger at his sudden display of arrogance. It made her think of how nonchalantly he had acted whilst he'd killed and threatened innocent people- people that, in some cases, she had held very close to her heart. "I still hate you. I hate you so much, and- given the opportunity- I would kill you."

"You hate me?" Klaus suddenly gripped her shoulders harshly; digging his fingers in tightly to her skin, causing her to gasp out in pain and struggle to escape. The man leant in quickly, his face far too close to hers for comfort as he brushed his lips over her earlobe- making her shiver from nerves. "I'm determined to change that, love."

And with those final words, the hybrid jerked both of their bodies over the edge of the fountain- throwing them into the deep pool of water.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading, please review :) As a hint, there will be another Ball coming up, in which a familiar face will make an appearance and Caroline will be forced to continue with the 'engagement' to Klaus. <strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**...**

** Please let me express my utter and most sincere apologies for my lack of updating. Stuff was just taking up so much of my time- people can understand that- and I just never found the time to do this until today. I'd had mild levels of inspiration and I'd written a few paragraphs of what I thought would be chapters, but this plot bunny just came to me today, and I decided to roll with it, and therefore, I wrote this in all of a few hours. **

**Also, note that your reviews made me never discontinue this story- there were periods where I was in my 'angsty mode' and I was considering deleting this entire account, but the moment I read your reviews, that stopped me.**

**So thank you, and I hope that I am now back in the mood for this :)**

**DIS: I don't own TVD. **

* * *

><p>"Miss North, this is becoming ridiculous!" George's voice snapped his charge out of her thoughts. Caroline Forbes, or Clementine North to many people, believed herself to be a very respectable socialite. She minded her manners, went out of her way to assist those in need, and constantly sought to remain in total control of her vampiric emotions.<p>

Unfortunately, after the previous night, Caroline Forbes was not keeping propriety and control at the top of her priorities list. This was something that George could plainly see.

The butler sighed in exasperation as the blonde vampire examined the package before her with distaste. It was before noon, and the thousand year old lady was not in the mood to be trifled with. Just an hour earlier, the boxes began to arrive; the boxes which, as a furious Caroline was soon to discover, all contained wedding gifts from various aristocrats.

"Ew! Oh my god!" Caroline screeched in disgust as she tossed aside the recently opened gift. It landed at the valet's feet; the strawberry-pink lid askew and the unnecessarily excessive rose-coloured wrapping paper spilt out over the box edges. Leaning down and quickly rummaging inside, the butler soon discovered the source of his charge's revulsion. "I cannot believe Roderick!"

It seemed the previously infatuated man may have lost his love for the Lady of North, but evidently not his lust for her- much to her displeasure.

"Humans have such creative imaginations when it comes to wedding nights, don't you agree, Miss North?" George dryly asked, grinning unabashedly as he received a vicious death glare in reply. "Let me say, I certainly didn't expect this to turn up among the presents! I mean, who thinks to buy a"-

"Georgie…" Caroline interrupted lowly with a dangerous smile on her face. "You really need to be quiet."

Stifling a grin, he paid her the respect of doing as she ordered. He harshly kicked the unwanted gift to the side of the room, and noticed his friend watching in morbid fascination as the…creative item smashed against the wall.

"Well, there goes the idea of sending it back," Caroline wryly spoke up, flashing her friend an appreciative glance.

"Oh, it can still be arranged," the valet replied with a mischievous expression on his face, the kind one would imagine a brat of a child wearing on April Fools' Day.

The blonde giggled as she turned to survey the mountainous pile of before her. George had offered to assist in the unwrapping of the gifts, but the older vampire wanted to make sure that she committed each sender to memory so that she could exact appropriate revenge on them later. They'd all be receiving martinis for Christmas…that'll show them.

Besides, this endeavour would have been quite fun, if not for the apparent theme that each gift held. She despised her mind for thinking of such a horrible word, but the theme was simply…_Klaroline_.

As she unwrapped each present, the thoughtful gift would always hint towards a connection with Klaus, such as the romantic cruise tickets around the Denver Islands- what used to be the Philippines- and the countless skimpy clothing aristocrat women had sent to her because they thought they held such a close connection with the Lady of North that their gifts would be unique and funny.

They were obviously neither.

Grimacing to herself as she discovered yet another scandalous negligee underneath a box's lid, Caroline began to feel as tired as she had the night before, when a certain bane-of-her-life hybrid had thrown them both into her favourite fountain. Unfortunately, the poor fountain hadn't survived the vampire's violent reaction. The hybrid did, though.

Her eyes dulled in expectation of another suggestive outfit, but instead gasped as the surprising gift fell into her lap. The valet craned his neck to spy the object, but blonde suddenly threw the present at the wall with as much force as she could muster- which, being a vampire, was a lot.

"'_My First Baby Book?!_'" The girl shrieked with a voice so shrill that it would surely wake the dead. "No…Baby books suggest babies. I am not raising a baby with Klaus!"

George sighed and picked up the discarded book from the bottom of the wall. Because she was a vampire, Caroline obviously couldn't procreate, so the only other option would be adoption- which the valet knew his charge would be equally set against.

_Though_, George mused to himself, _Klaus does have many witches at his disposal. One of them might be able to find a loophole around the reproductive barrier. Best to not tell the banshee over there, though._

Said banshee was wailing in a mixture of anger at Klaus and misery over her tainted reputation. She sniffled as she grabbed the next present off of the gradually decreasing pile of gifts, and set about unwrapping it.

Prying off the lid, she frowned as she saw the single, thin strip of paper lying in the middle of the otherwise empty box. Lamest present ever? Casting a quick look over at George, who raised his eyebrows expectantly at her, Caroline retrieved the note and read it.

_Congratulations. Wickery Bridge, 6 pm. _

The blonde vampire tilted her head and narrowed her eyes in suspicion as her mind ran through the list of potential candidates for the sender of the note. Only a select number of people would be privy to the connection between the blonde and the town surrounding Wickery Bridge- the town that, of course, no longer existed.

Caroline read the quick message in confusion, and swiftly relayed it to George, who became stiff at the thought of a set-up.

"Wickery Bridge?" He wondered aloud, "I have no idea where that is!"

The blonde ignored the rest of the gifts as she stood and made her way to her walk-in wardrobe. If she was to be receiving a blast from the past, then she was going to look as stunning as she could.

"You don't," Caroline replied grimly to George, "But I do."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, languidly residing in the embassy of Wales, the Lord Niklaus was scowling as he woke to see his younger sister opening a ridiculous number of gifts addressed to himself.<p>

Flitting over to Rebekah's side, his lip curled into a sneer as he saw the number of blatantly expensive boxes- who knew boxes could be expensive?! His eyes wandered to the pile of discarded gifts; the ones that Rebekah had opened and found no use for. He saw clothing, books, and an alarming number of sexually suggestive objects. He grinned to himself as he imagined what his favourite blonde vampire was waking up to.

"Nik," his sister whined as she opened another suck-up's gifts and tossed it to the side, "Why did you have to do this last night? The public are so annoying when it comes to weddings."

The hybrid laughed and wandered over to the window, which he swiftly opened and relished in the feeling of the brisk morning breeze caressing his face. He pressed a button on the wall that would summon a waiter- he was missing his early drink.

"Never fear, Rebekah," he calmly told her as the waiter hurried in with yet another pile of presents. "Caroline is probably already planning dozens of horribly public break-ups. The 'engagement' will be called off within the next few weeks."

He motioned for the waiter to deposit the gifts onto the bed, and turned to his sister, who had abandoned the pile of relentless presents.

"Where did you wander off to last night, anyway?" He asked the vampire, "Did you decide to forego partying in favour of renewing your strumpet reputation?"

The blonde scowled and threw the nearest expensive vase at her brother, who dodged it with a chuckle. It landed onto the ground and smashed into pieces, much to the dismay of the waiter, who rushed over to it and grimaced.

"Oh, shove off, Nik!" The irritated woman scowled and flitted out of the room with a huff. Blinking in slight confusion, the hybrid shrugged the moody behaviour of his sibling out of his mind, and instead called the waiter over to his side. He had to be made to forget the entire conversation- he had mentioned Caroline by name, and he wouldn't want any…rumours to make his favourite vampire's life any more difficult than it already was.

He was pulled from his thoughts as the door opened and a bemused Elijah strolled into the room. In his normal formal apparel, he cast a quick look back to the path that he had come from- noting the path of destruction his sister had left- and assumed that Niklaus had, in quite old-fashioned terms, pissed Rebekah off.

"Did you really have to?" He sighed at his brother, who was murmuring his compelling words to the waiter. The hybrid's gaze rose to meet the accusatory stare of Elijah, and the elder rolled his eyes at the stiff, proper and insufferably moral behaviour that the Original Vampire possessed. It really threw an obstacle in his path of being completely feared by the supernatural community.

"I asked an innocent question; Rebekah just took it the wrong way," he smiled benignly and winced at the sharp ray of sun that had suddenly emerged from behind the clouds. He wasn't bothered by sunlight in general, but seriously… who wouldn't get hurt from an annoying ray of sharp sunlight after sleep?

"You acted deliberately, and had no right to anger her," Elijah replied, and the hybrid froze with a dangerous smile on his face. Was…his little brother actually trying to scold him? How foolish…and yet, somewhat annoying. Such behaviour had to be corrected at once.

Turning gracefully, he strode over towards the suit-attired vampire, and met his gaze easily.

"Do you remember what happened the last time you questioned my behaviour?" The Brit asked lowly, eyes hooded with threat. He watched as his brother attempted a wince, and the hybrid's lips twitched upwards. "Just because I have finally found a level of… entertainment in my life that does not give you the permission to question anything I do."

"Ni"-

"Now, just because I favour you more than Kol or occasionally Rebekah, this does not mean that I will not hesitate to _stop_ you…should you get any ideas of stopping me," he leant back and surveyed the impression he had made, and he deemed it satisfactory.

He turned around and deposited his body onto the bed, sighing in relief as he moulded into the shape of the mattress. It was divine…he idly toyed with the idea of imagining have a little blonde vampire writhing around beside him, but stopped himself. It would only leave him longing.

For now.

"You still have the daggers?" Elijah asked softly, pressing his eyes shut as though he had a sudden headache- which, if he weren't a super-healing vampire, would be possible. He'd always considered his brother keeping the neutralising daggers likelihood, but he still had hoped.

The hybrid turned to the side, and picked up the arm of the currently mindless waiter. He none-too-gently rolled up the sleeve of the suit to reveal the pale-skinned human forearm.

"Of course I kept the daggers," Klaus replied, his words speaking as though his actions were entirely obvious. "Never fear. The humans won't find them, but rest assured…they'll constantly be at my disposal should they ever be…necessary."

And with those final, threatening words, the hybrid promptly bared and fangs and sunk them deep into the veins of the waiter's wrists.

* * *

><p>"Miss North, are you quite sure about this?" George asked as he followed behind his charge as she strode through the warning barriers that would have stopped a human.<p>

"Of course," she replied confidently. The vampire had earlier retrieved an antique of hers; a favourite dress that she'd worn five hundred years ago. Technology back then had been really evolving, and had enabled her to preserve some of the clothes from one of her favourite fashion eras: Basically they were modernised Victorian dresses with a Parisian flare. The French capital had tended to be quite the fashion hub a thousand years ago, but in the 2500s, it became the ultimate source of everything beauty.

And understandably, Caroline had spent most of the century there- she certainly had the clothing to prove it! That was also where she had met George.

"I've gone through a list of people who might know my links to Mystic Falls," the blonde informed her dear friend. "Some of them might be a challenge if they attack me…but that's where you come in."

Earlier, she'd given him two small clips on devices to place on his jacket. On her dress, she placed a matching device and swiftly told him it was for emergencies.

"If the one on your left begins beeping, then it means I've pressed it and I need help," she'd explained to him. "That's where the right one comes in. I have set it to a certain number- that of the embassy of Wales. Get Klaus' help."

Now, she was wondering if that was such a good idea. Klaus would probably tear anyone who touched her to shreds- unless if they had something to offer him. Perhaps that was why Caroline was being summoned; her connection with the hybrid had been very publicly announced the night before, so that could enable a direct link to Klaus.

Regardless, the blonde vampire's downright curiosity had always been a weakness of hers, and that was motivating her to simply move forward and find out who had called her from the past.

The pair of vampires moved through the plain that had once been Mystic Falls. There were no ruins left; time and the Nuclear War had taken care of that. Only in the last century had plantation begun to rise again- though the air and residual nuclear activity kept the humans away.

All that remained of the small town was the odd antique here and there that had miraculously survived. In one of her previous visits- occurring when after the war and Caroline was on another of her drunken adventures- she come across the 'big' hand of the town clock. It was half-buried, and the inebriated vampire had only just recognised it as a piece of her old home.

It was now cased in her room of memoirs in one of her many large estates in Paris.

They finally reached the outskirts of the town. Nearing the river, the woods had almost returned to their original height that the vampire remembered from her time. They were certainly tall enough to hide the rebuilt Wickery Bridge from sight.

How convenient.

Caroline turned to her friend and motioned towards the large tree that marked the end of Mystic Falls land.

"Stay here," she instructed him, "I'll call you if anything happens."

With that, she took off into the cover of the trees, and quickly disappeared from sight.

* * *

><p>The bridge had actually been rebuilt by Caroline and some of her newborn vampire helpers. Upon discovering that it had not survived the war, she had taken it upon herself to recreate one of the memorable landmarks of Mystic Falls. Of course, it wasn't made of concrete- it was made of wood that she had brought into the land, and it certainly looked very little like the original, but it suited Caroline's needs.<p>

Whenever she felt like time was catching up to her too much, she'd always return to Mystic Falls and Wickery Bridge- if only for an hour, or a day or more. It was her safety net…and now someone had discovered that.

The blonde vampire came across the bridge; it was shrouded in the shade the woodland produced; there was obviously no man-made clearing surrounding it now. In fact, it had always had a distinctive medieval air about it that Caroline had loved. The daylight, however, filtered through the gaps in the leaves, and creates an emerald shade on the ground; it glittered on the soft river water and plant covered rocks.

Caroline, stepping onto the bridge, was very sure that whoever was meeting her was a vampire- or part vampire. That was the only supernatural creature that could stand time eternally. She leant against the railing and turned her hearing up to its fullest potential. Through her thousand years, the blonde vampire used her abnormal ability of control over her vampirism to extend and nurture her powers. Every trait she possessed was stronger than that of the average vampire.

And now that was her upper-hand.

It was the sound of flitting; of an attempted surprise entrance. It didn't have the urgency of attack, nor the distance for passing by. It was her visitor; and they had arrived.

She faced the sound and prepared herself as the sounds of various leaves were crushed at the speed of light- so fast that their sounds would have been undetectable to the average being.

But Caroline Forbes was no average being. And neither was her visitor.

For there, now emerging from the woodlands looking perfectly comfortable in her old home and place of death was Elena Gilbert.

* * *

><p><strong>As a thank you, I am already continuing on with the next chapter as I update this, and let's just say...Next chapter will include a non-Klaroline scene (though there will be Klaroline in the next chapter as well) that I have always wanted to write. Hopefully, you will enjoy it. <strong>

**Once again, a big thank you to everyone who reviewed and kept my motivation high. Please give me requests, inspiration and most importantly...feedback! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**...Wow! Thank you everybody for all of your amazing reviews! They are the number one thing that motivate me to continue busting out chapters for this story :)**

**Note: As a bit of a warning...there's a bit of violence in this chapter.**

**DIS: I don't own The Vampire Diaries. **

* * *

><p>Caroline watched as the Petrova doppelganger consumed the final drops of blood from the poor helpless citizen. She flinched, not at her own vampiric hunger, but at the thought that there was nothing that she could do to help him. With obviously fake nails, the vampire smeared the blood on the man's neck until it was a mess.<p>

The blonde was repulsed. The hunger she held was actually at the back of her mind, and she felt very little temptation to devour the last of the man for herself, rather, she was more inclined to rescue him. It disgusted her how another vampire could be this…insensitive.

The olive-skinned beauty with the smoky eyes leant back and observed the impact she was having on her company. It satisfied her to see the look of distaste in the blonde's face; the shock at seeing Elena Gilbert drain a man of his blood.

"You're very quiet," she commented as she threw the man's body into the river. She'd decided to bring him along- just for the impact. It had definitely worked to her favour. "Or maybe you're just hungry."

The blonde scowled and watched as the pale corpse was tossed carelessly into the current of the river. As the daughter of a sheriff, this behaviour made her feel extremely guilty. Hurting people always did.

"I'm not hungry," Caroline replied truthfully, and the doppelganger could easily see that the blonde was right; there was not a hint of a vampire face taking over. She was…annoyingly human.

The olive-skinned girl tilted her head in curiosity as she raised a hand to wipe the residual blood from her mouth. It smeared slightly, and the girl tutted in annoyance and repeated the act until her cheek held no signs of the previous blemish.

"You have very good control," the doppelganger observed, stepping closer and scrutinising the blonde's face suspiciously- just to double check and make sure that she wasn't lying about her lack of blood-lust. "It's unusual. And frustrating."

Caroline remained silent, and instead kept her eyes glued to the body that was racing down the river; no doubt it would turn up on someone's boat or shore in a few days' time. The girl shuddered as she recalled discovering the body of a dead vampire…but she had been human then. Now that she was not, she understood the circumstances that lead to it being there.

Her company was bored with her unresponsive behaviour, and so she flitted to being directly in her line of sight.

"Come on; not even a little bit peckish?" The brunette asked hopefully, but to no avail. Annoyed, she casually began to walk around the clearing in disinterest. "Come on; please don't do a Stefan on me. You know, with the whole… 'animal blood' diet."

"What's wrong with that?!" Caroline finally replied, tossing her hands out in indignation. "What is so terrible about control?"

"I don't know because I've never had it," the doppelganger simply told her, a small knowing smile on her face.

The blonde frowned, and immediately checked within herself to make sure that she still had a firm level of control on her whirling emotions and hunger. Surely, all vampires had a level of control?

"I once spoke with a witch," the brunette explained while she lifted her leg and fixed her shoe, "And she said that the doppelganger was made to be somewhat of a living, continuous cycle. We're not meant to be immortal." Whirling around with a show-stopping smile on her face, the vampire gestured to herself with a giggle, "But I am. And apparently, a doppelganger never deals with immortality too well."

The blonde's brow creased in confusion, and she wondered as to what her company meant by that. Her thoughts strayed, and she briefly considered what the other held in her past…or, the past that Caroline didn't already know.

"But you," the brunette tilted her head curiously once more, "have some sort of…gift with control. I doubt you even feel the slightest bit hungry."

The blonde regarded her wearily. Every time she was around the doppelganger, alarm bells went off inside her head constantly, so it was pure instinct that made her stay on her guard.

"I assume that you feel hungry all the time," Caroline replied almost snidely as she sneered at the disgusting image of the brunette's blood covered neck. It was repulsive how someone who was once human themselves could so easily take away the life of one.

The doppelganger noticed the expression and smirked in a tolerant way. Perhaps this whole…hunger control gift would wear off after a while- perhaps it was simply her humanity holding power over her vampiric actions.

"I've learnt to calm it down a bit through the help of vervain," Katherine replied smoothly, "but when Elena becomes a vampire- and she will- she'll be the next unfortunate newborn to realise that doppelgangers never take well to vampirism."

* * *

><p>"Elena?" Caroline raised her head and surveyed her once good friend. The stunningly beautiful doppelganger stepped out of the shadows of the trees and approached slowly- forgoing all use of her vampiric speed.<p>

Dressed in an obviously Spanish fashion line- the blonde vampire was in the good books of many currently famous designers- the brunette had a distinctive Katherine air about her, but Caroline knew exactly where the older doppelganger was, so she was certain that it was Elena who stood before her.

"Hello, Caroline," she replied, and the blonde flinched internally as she heard the voice that she remembered so well. The two vampires had not crossed paths for almost nine hundred years- since before the Nuclear war! Of course, it had been deliberate on Caroline's part. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you," the blonde tightly replied with narrowed eyes. She didn't extend any further invitations for conversation- there were some certain…unresolved differences between the two of them.

The brunette obviously expected Caroline to reply and when no such reply was forthcoming, she sighed like an exasperated mother to her child.

"Caroline, you can't still be mad at me," Elena softly told her, not realising that her words were only adding fuel to the fire. "Damon and Stefan made up after a hundred years for less than this and…well, I miss you."

"Do you?" The blonde hissed back angrily, almost spitting the words out, "Perhaps you should have thought of that before you had him killed!"

"I didn't want that!" Elena replied in a whiny voice- one that Caroline remembered to be the voice that gave her everything she wanted. "You know what Damon's like- why am I being hurt for something that he did?"

"Because he was never hurt for what he did!" Caroline snapped as painful memories began to worm their way back into her mind. "You fought with him about it, had make-up sex and then you expected everything to be back to normal."

"Caroline"-

"I can't do this," the blonde scowled, and decided that she would simply remove herself from the situation before she lost any control she currently had over her shaken emotions. She was reverting back to her two-year-old vampiric self and she couldn't allow that to happen.

And so, she whirled around and began to flit away into the trees and back to George. The wind whistling through her sensitive ears nearly blocked out every other sound, but through that seemingly impenetrable obstacle, the blonde vampire managed to pick out the faint, confident words back with her old friend.

"We've found a way to cure vampirism."

This brought Caroline up short. Because of her control over her abilities and once the whole 'everyone I knew is now gone' faze had passed, she'd never really mourned her loss of mortality- in fact, she'd embraced all the new opportunities eternal life had given her. But it wasn't selfishness that made her quickly roll her eyes and flit back to the bridge.

She may have brilliant control over her blood lust, but she knew that George didn't. And Caroline had occasionally found him mourning his humanity. If anyone deserved a cure, it was her best friend.

The brunette stood expectantly; as though she knew that her words would bring her old friend back into her presence. The blonde vampire made a point of avoiding people from her past, so Elena couldn't have any idea of the real reason she'd returned.

"I'm not doing this for me," Caroline insisted as she stood tall and stared down her company. "Now spill."

The doppelganger regarded her closely for a moment, and then smiled to herself. For a sudden moment, the blonde was viciously reminded of Katherine…and then the smile was gone, and the accompanying reminder with it.

"You need to find someone of the same blood as the one who turned you," Elena explained patiently, biting her lip as she went- assuming that Caroline was thinking of herself and therefore would have a great challenge of finding a stray Petrova bloodline. "You need to have that blood in your system and die by a White Oak Ash dagger."

"A White Oak Ash dagger?!" Caroline repeated, incredulous. "They were lost a long time ago! The only person who could possibly know what's happened to them is"-

Oh.

Well that explained a lot.

The blonde vampire stiffened, and struggled to contain the minor indignation she felt at being used. She turned her curly head to fix a grim glare at the doppelganger.

"That's the only reason you bothered to tell me about it, isn't it?" Caroline smiled sadly, and then huffed to herself.

"You're the only one we knew who could do this," Elena quietly replied, glancing at the ground and shuffling in an almost nervous manner. For some reason, this infuriated the blonde even further; the fact the other vampire was trying to pretend that she was still the same being from a thousand years earlier. Despite the distance between them, Caroline was easily able to pick up the scent of an obviously recent human meal…it was repulsive.

"We're?" She repeated, justified anger at painful memories overtaking her. "Oh, I see. You still haven't decided which brother you want? That's very 'Katherine' of you."

The doppelganger blinked suddenly- not expecting this reaction from her old friend. Then her own eyes narrowed at the mention of her old rival.

"I am not like Katherine," Elena replied vehemently. "I just can't let one of them go without hurting the other."

"And yet," Caroline replied with a scoff, "You're perfectly content to hurt everyone else. It's been a thousand years, Elena; you should have been able to grow up by now." In a very 'Klaus like' way, the blonde strutted closer to the brunette. "But here you are…still flaunting a Salvatore on each arm."

The other vampire hissed suddenly; not liking the implied promiscuity thrown at her. Not liking that her actions were being shown in a selfish light.

"Jealous that you can't have one?" Elena replied- her vampire face now showing, "I remember that you threw yourself at both of them. Do actually think you could take one off of my hands?"

Before the brunette could blink once more, the blonde slammed her into a tree; the roots creaking against the sudden force of extraordinary strength. Caroline pushed her snarling, and very fear-inducing vampiric face against that of the doppelganger's.

"I nearly did, remember?" She answered the brunette's attempted insult, forcing the brunette to also recall the events of Mystic Falls.

"You nearly killed him," Elena growled angrily back at her, trying to use her own super-strength to push the older vampire off of her, but this was to no avail.

"And then I decided that if everybody took an eye for eye, the world would be blind," Caroline replied as her emotions of that day nearly overwhelmed her. Frowning in what could only be called sentimentality, she felt her fingers loosen around the neck of her old friend, and she finally tore her hand away, leaving the doppelganger to gasp in surprise and grip at her skin.

"I'll find out about the daggers," Caroline announced, "But not for your sake. And don't you dare tell me that this a ploy to get me killed by Klaus, because if it is…"

She rushed forward and snarled viciously, causing the doppelganger to flinch against her will. Then, the brunette returned her animal like show with her own vampire face.

"You can't touch me," the darker-skinned one replied in a hiss, "Despite how much you want your revenge for a thousand years ago."

That did it.

Her two-year old emotion clouding every inch of her judgement, the blonde gripped Elena's cheeks in between her hands and pushed her face up so that their eyes were directly level.

"I am stronger than you," she hissed at her once friend, fire running through every vein in her body, "And you are not in my good books. You need to tread very lightly around me from now on, because I am not the same Caroline who went along with everything you said…And I will not hesitate to get rid of you if you threaten anything I love again." She smiled benignly at her obviously frustrated ex-friend, who clawed at the hands who held her captive. "My world doesn't revolve around you, anymore…I suggest you get used to that."

And with that, she snapped Elena Gilbert's neck, causing the body of her once friend to collapse to the floor- unconscious.

* * *

><p>Caroline Forbes began to flit through the trees, embracing the sudden rush of cold air against her skin. The dress she wore was excellent for running in, as the material was extremely sturdy and managed to hold easily against the force of super-speed.<p>

As she ran, she thought of Mystic Falls, and around her, she was able to identify places that she remembered. Because of both war and time, the roads leading to the bridge had been destroyed but the vampire was able to see small parts of gravel that were scattered among the high grass that now grew in its place. She remembered many a time when her father had taken her on shopping trips to nearby towns, and they'd sung to the radio as they sped up along past the roads now ruined before her.

In fact, she could almost hear the cars again; crushing the grass and leaves as they approached. The blonde frowned as she realised that she was actually hearing something coming towards her…very quickly.

Her face transformed into a snarl as she noticed her own foolishness. Wherever Elena Gilbert goes…two vampire brothers tend to follow. And the blonde hazarded a guess that they weren't too happy with her threatening show towards their girlfriend.

That could be a bit of an issue.

Skin turning slightly pale, she raised a hand and pressed the button on her collar. It immediately flashed red and beeped twice before fading back into the colour of her clothing as the blonde braced herself.

She hissed as she was suddenly slammed to the ground; the dirt flying up into the air at the brute force of the sudden impact. Her legs grated against the earth; creating harsh gashes on her legs that began to heal almost as soon as they were made. Despite her body being jarred for a second, Caroline growled and flitted her way over to the trees. Her escape attempt failed as her pursuer gripped her waist and tossed her back against the trunk; indenting it with her body shape.

Full vampire face on show, the blonde hissed at the attractive brown-haired Salvatore before her, and his expression mirrored hers.

"You don't get to threaten Elena and get away with it, Blondie," Damon snarled at her, shoving her back against the tree again, making the trunk creak with the weight.

"What are you going to do?" Caroline replied with as much anger that she had. Once, she hadn't been too fond of Damon. After his incident a thousand years earlier, she despised him. "I'm the only one who can get your precious daggers, so you don't want to ruin that chance."

From across the clearing, she could see Stefan and Elena emerge from the trees leading to Wickery Bridge. He had an arm around her shoulders, and the doppelganger was really laying the 'shell-shocked' act on.

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked her, concern evident in his eyes.

"I'm fine," Elena replied uncertainly, but Caroline was able to see straight through her act. "I just…didn't expect her to be so different."

The blonde contained a scoff as she realised the doppelganger still had the two brothers wrapped around her finger because they still believed that she was 'human' Elena. Nothing that Caroline could say would get through to their 'zombie' minds.

"So what? Feeling like torturing me?" She asked them all, putting on an air of arrogance. Inside, she wasn't so certain. The two Salvatores were almost two hundred years older than her, and they could have some…interesting tricks up their sleeves. She had to be careful. "Of course, torture is the easiest way to get me _off_ of your side."

"Well," Damon tilted his head to the side, and appeared to be considering torture as a method, but he was swiftly stopped by Elena, who crossed her arms and looked outraged that her boyfriend had even suggested the idea.

"Damon!" She gasped, as though the idea were appalling, but Caroline knew that the doppelganger wouldn't be standing up so much in her defence if she had nothing to gain from it. "You are not torturing Caroline."

"I'm sure we can figure something else out," Stefan added on, throwing his brother a warning glare.

Caroline rolled her eyes at the behaviour of the brothers. They latched onto the same girl, but they always blamed the other for their hurt…not the girl selfish enough to cause it.

"Why don't you just let me go?" She sweetly asked, feeling quite nervous inside. She knew that, if they wished, they could hurt her very easily.

Stefan threw her a regretful expression, obviously not wanting to be a part of this. If he hadn't been on the Elena bandwagon, he may have turned out to be a good friend of the blonde, but that was quickly diminished a thousand years ago.

"You're too much of a threat," he sadly told her, "We need you to cooperate if this is ever going to work."

"You're too much of a risk now," Elena added, "We can't take the chance that you'll double-cross us to Klaus."

"You two are engaged," Damon smiled nastily, obviously thinking about a thousand years ago, when Klaus had been a flirtatious bastard towards the blonde- causing her quite a bit of stress and turmoil. "Congratulations, by the way. Let me guess- June wedding?"  
>Caroline rolled her eyes at his words, remembering the night earlier. She had made a point to stay out of the doppelganger's life, but with Klaus' sudden reappearance and publicly broadcasted proposal to the Lady of North, Elena must have rediscovered her easily.<p>

The damned hybrid had caused more trouble than he had realised!

"Compelling isn't going to work, anymore- we missed that opportunity," Damon continued in a lazy drawl; his lips twitching into sarcastic smiles as he talked. "We can't bargain with her because we don't have anything _to_ bargain. Honestly, torture is looking to be the best chance."

The blonde watched as Elena and Stefan protested once more- but she grimly noticed that they did so with much less enthusiasm- and she finally formed a plan. She was currently being held up against a trunk of wood…and wood is a vampire's weakness.

"I have a better idea," Caroline interrupted them loudly, readying her feet for movement, "You let me do this on my own terms. You have my word that I won't turn you in to Klaus- I don't owe him anything. Remember that."

As she spoke her final words, she let loose. Her vampire face took over, and she swung her leg up and landed a harsh kick into a very…tender area of Damon's. He snarled at the impact and braced himself against the tree trunk to recover.

Elena and Stefan rushed over to attack her, but she swiftly flitted to where they had been. Leaping up, she gripped a tree branch and tore it off, noticing the convenient sharp edge. She didn't intend to kill them, rather incapacitate them so she could make her escape.

As she landed on the ground, she felt her ankle be caught in and iron grip, and then the floor was rushing up to meet her. Using her strength to guide her, she whirled around on the earth and faced Elena, who hissed in anger above her and promptly pinned the blonde down.

Caroline's unused makeshift stake lay tossed at the base of the tree; now forgotten.

"That was very stupid of you," Damon, now sauntering casually over to beside her, kneeling down and surveying her. "Now we have to make sure that you don't do anything like that again."  
>"Damon…" Stefan growled in warning.<p>

"It's going to have to happen sometime, Stefan," Damon replied with a roll of his eyes. "It may as well be now."

He shifted his shoe until it was on top of her pinned down hand, and then he began to apply slow pressure to her fingers with his heel. Caroline gritted her teeth, and pushed down the pain she felt as her fingers screamed at the increasing weight.

She finally released a grunt of pain as her end finger bone snapped off from the palm, and the joints within it began to tremble. This launched a domino effect, and the rest of her finger bones began to gradually do the same thing.

Her breath became laboured as she felt her cells whirl around in attempt to heal her injuries, but the continuous torture prevented that from happening. She grimaced as she felt the bone of her palm begin to slowly give way and crush in on itself against the force of the shoe.

A strangled cry was wrenched from her throat as she felt fissures and cracks form on her palm bone as it cracked painfully; the ache and sudden fierce pain rushing into her mind and clouding her head. She began to struggle again- she hadn't been tortured since the Nuclear War, and so she was a little rusty at holding back. She managed to throw Elena off, and immediately slammed her free hand against Damon's foot in an attempt to dislodge it.

He snarled and simply caught her offending limb in his hand and continued crushing hers. She released a hiss of pain as she felt her palm bone finally snap apart, and she felt her eyes watering as the jagged edge of her broken bone rubbed and scratched against her tender skin.

Caroline valued her controlled senses, but at times like these- where she should have been so overwhelmed by one demanding occurrence- she managed to shock herself when she noticed that her other senses weren't being blocked out.

In fact, whilst she lay on the ground being tortured, she closed her eyes in a grimace and noticed that her ears were managing to pick up on the smallest things. The smallest and toughest birds- the ones that had specifically evolved after the Nuclear War- chirped their happy songs from the tallest of the tree branches. The wind had a chill to it that would have usually signified that coats needed to be worn. There was a constant shuffling of the life in what was once Mystic Falls.

The leaves shuffled as the wind blew against them, feathers shuffled as a bird's wings beat on the air, and the dirt and dead foliage shuffled as legs ran at super-speed on the ground.

"What a reunion this is," a distinctly British voice wafted jovially through the clearing, "It's a pity I have to break it up."

Caroline's eyes flashed open and she raised her head just quick enough to see the approaching company emerge and enter the clearing. She winced and had a sharp intake of breath as she felt Damon stand in surprise; removing his foot from her hand in the process and causing her body to immediately begin healing her wounds.

Entering the clearing, Niklaus Mikaelson and his accompanying brother and sister stood proud and intimidating as they surveyed the scene before them. A few seconds later, George emerged from the trees, looking flustered at how fast the Originals were.

The hybrid watched each of the reactions to his presence; Caroline wasn't really fazed- she was a bit busy healing- but he'd be sure to make her thank him later. He was satisfied to see the doppelganger and her two tag-alongs watching him with an air of fear. That was appropriate.

"Now, where did you get the idea that torturing my fiancé was acceptable?" Klaus asked with a deceiving smile on his face, as he began to walk towards the blonde vampire who'd begun to come back to her senses.

Elena and her two lovers glared at him, but they still were obviously nervous. For good reason, judging by how murderous the hybrid was feeling. In his books, if there was anyone who didn't deserve torture, it was Caroline.

"You're not going to talk?" He asked, casting an expectant glance at the three of his labelled enemies. When they remained silent, a wolfish grin began to slowly spread across his face- mirroring that of his sister's, who was eager to take on the much weaker doppelganger. "Your loss."

With all the grace of a pride of lions, the three Originals attacked.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so this chapter was mostly about plot- because, yes, I do know where this story is going and I have a good idea of how it will end. Next chapter...possibly may most definitely will contain Klaroline. I quote this chapter (from Klaus):<strong>

**_-but he'd be sure to make her thank him later._**

**Yes, I am writing the next chapter, and...there will be some action of a Klaroline nature... :D**

**But please review and tell me what you want from upcoming chapters, tell me theories and please give me feedback! Trust me, your reviews are the only thing that get me motivated to write more. **

**Hope you enjoyed :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi :) Okay, sorry for the late update; school and real life took over. But, today I just sat down because I had spare time and busted this out! **  
><strong>Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews; as always they motivate me to continue writing this story!<strong>

**As a heads up, on the Caroline Wiki page, it says that her birthday is sometime between June 30th and September 30th, so I just randomly chose the 29th. **

**Warning: A bit more soft violence in this chapter. **

* * *

><p>Caroline Forbes eyes were slowly becoming accustomed to the light that was wafting through the clouds in the sky. Usually, her dead body would flinch slightly at the yellow rays- always suspicious and aware of the damage that they could cause- but now, as she lay with a healing hand and chaos whirling around her, the rays did nothing but remind her of how wonderfully blissful her humanity had felt.<p>

Her subconscious mind knew that she should snap out of her strange little trance that she was in, but her eyes were ensnared by this new fascination with the sun. How could something that could cause her the pain of fire now be the source of her comfort as her bones painfully cracked and snapped back into their original position?

Her head tilted back against the ground in exhaustion as she watched a nearby cloud creep its way closer to the sun, and the blonde vampire scowled as it approached. It figured that something she was enjoying was now being taken away from her. As the floating clump of whites and grey consumed the light of the sun, Caroline slumped back fully and shut her eyes; now content to simply listen to the sound of nature.

Instead, she ended up hearing her hand heal.

Snap.

Crack.

Crash.

The blonde vampire's eyes flashed open as she heard the sound of Damon Salvatore being thrown into a tree trunk by Elijah Mikaelson; the wood collapsing as his weight and the momentum of the throw overbore it.

Her curls must have looked a fine mess as she sat up; thoroughly ignoring her almost fully healed hand as she focused entirely on the Salvatore that had caused her so much pain and misery that had never been brought to justice.

The dark-haired and usually reserved Mikaelson appeared as refined as ever, aside from the blood patches on his suit jacket that had corresponding wounds on his foe's body. Said foe, Damon, snarled as he sped back to his feet and snapped off a long branch of wood and charged at the gentlemanly Original vampire.

Caroline, seizing her chance, used her speed to intercept the manoeuver and used the element of surprise to tear the tree branch out of the Salvatore's hands. The dark-haired vampire barely had the time to register what had happened before the branch was deeply embedded into his stomach.

"Don't ever try to torture me again, okay?" Caroline snarled at him, her vampire face furious and more vicious than ever as she twisted the branch to painfully scrape against the Salvatore's insides. He grunted in pain; the veins in his neck straining out against his skin as he displayed admirable amounts of self-control to not express his pain louder.

"Go to hell, Blondie," Damon growled, his own vampire face returning her snarl. He attempted to use his superior strength to escape her grasp, and would have easily succeeded in doing so had Elijah Mikaelson not flitted beside her and held the dark-haired Salvatore captive.

The blonde gave her would-be brother-in-law a curt, grateful nod, before returning to face her enemy.

"I'm engaged to Klaus," Caroline matter-of-factly told him, casting a quick meaningful glance to where the mentioned hybrid was pinning Stefan Salvatore up against another tree, before she sharpened her eyes to a glare. Her hands instinctively flew up to Damon's pale neck and she pushed her snarling face close to his as she growled, "I'm already in hell."

Snapping Damon Salvatore's neck proved to Caroline Forbes that revenge was indeed, very sweet.

* * *

><p>"So, Stefan Salvatore, home once more," Klaus drawled lightly as he pushed his old friend against the tree trunk. "In any other circumstances, I would have offered you a drink."<p>

Stefan struggled in his grasp, causing the hybrid to chuckle at his fruitless attempts. A thousand years age difference creates quite the gape in strength in superiority. Eventually, the Salvatore ceased his movements and resigned himself to the fact that he was probably going to die.

Klaus didn't fail to notice that Stefan's eyes flickered over to where Elena was being thoroughly flogged by both Rebekah and the young vampire friend of Caroline's. The doppelganger released a shriek as she was tossed into the nearby river; the splashes of water causing her smooth skin and lovely brown hair to vanish momentarily before she leapt back out onto the ground and resumed the fight once more with more vigor.

"Rebekah will most likely tear her apart," Klaus amiably told the more preferable Salvatore as he retrieved a sharp stick of wood that would be an effective makeshift stake. "She never liked her much. Might have had something to do with being dropped for Elena. Well, you know what they say: '_Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'" _He smiled calmly as he tested the sharp end of the 'stake' against Stefan's pale neck; and the dark-haired vampire swallowed his scream as the wood tore a large, bleeding gash in his skin; the folds of the wound appearing as though they were dipped in blood.

He calmed himself as the gash began to heal, and he basically felt all the small molecules of his skin latching on and sealing themselves back together. It gave him a burning sensation; as though thousands of tiny bites rippled across the wound. Eventually, the feeling subsided, and the younger vampire was left glaring at the hybrid.

"So, I suppose this is goodbye, mate," he informed the Salvatore in a matter-of-fact tone, as though he were discussing a mundane topic, "I can't let you get away with torturing my fiancé." He shrugged with an almost regretful expression on his face. "The public won't understand, you see."

"What do want with Caroline?" Stefan found his articulating voice at last, and glared daggers at the hybrid that held him captive to a very near death. "Leave her alone."

"Says the man who allowed her to be tortured!" Klaus' calm outward appearance faltered slightly at the irony of the situation. "Practice what you preach, Stefan, because hypocrisy gets on my nerves."

Now done with the conversation, the hybrid raised the stake, only to be halted by the piercing feminine scream of the doppelganger. Not wanting to miss a moment of the brunette's misery, and thinking that it would be a satisfying revenge for Stefan to witness the pain of his girlfriend, the hybrid turned his head slightly to watch the unfolding scene.

"Damon!" Elena shrieked as she saw Caroline skewer the other Salvatore with a branch and a vicious snarl on her face. Behind the blonde vampire, Elijah stood in surprise for a moment, before flitting over to assist her hold the vampire captive.

The brunette tried to rush over to one of her two boyfriends, but was immediately thrown back by a vengeful Rebekah, who enjoyed the sight of Elena helplessly seeing her lover being hurt.

Stefan lurched against his restraints once more as Caroline swiftly snapped the neck of Damon Salvatore and took the moment to savor the sight of her enemy's body crumpling to the ground motionless.

Klaus viewed the scene with a sense of what was almost pride; seeing the strong vampire exacting her revenge against one of the hybrid's long-time nuisances was a rather gratifying sight. With a mixture of both sarcasm and strange seriousness, he returned his eyes to the tormented Stefan as he spoke in a drawl.

"That's my girl."

* * *

><p>Elijah turned to the blonde vampire and retrieved a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed it politely onto his sister-in-law's cheek, as a smear of blood was tainting her otherwise fair skin.<p>

The touch on her skin seemed to snap her out of her thoughts, and she spluttered out at the sincerity of the action, before the Original vampire replaced the handkerchief back into his pocket; seemingly satisfied with his effort to right her appearance.

"Are you going to kill him?" He asked Caroline, his voice amicable as he discussed the fate of Damon Salvatore's life.

"What?" Caroline replied in shock, the moment rushing back to her. "No!"

Confusion flittered over the Mikaelson's face and the blonde vampire took a second to realise what she had said. Damn it! The Original vampire couldn't know about the plan for the cure… he would run straight to Klaus and get her killed.

And yet, as she thought this, Caroline surveyed her surroundings and saw that both Stefan and Elena were very close to getting killed themselves. The blonde immediately thought that it didn't matter, as she had all the information that she need, but then she stopped herself.

Elena had always been rather manipulative- Caroline had assumed that it was passed down from Katherine- and the presence of danger would not have escaped her notice when she met up with Caroline. It would have been so easy to withhold information from her…information that would mean that Elena would need to stay alive and cooperate until the cure had been tested.

"Stop!" Caroline shrieked, as she rushed out into the middle of all the battles taking place. The sheer intensity of her voice made all the Originals (and George) to cease their movements and cast a glance to her. "Please don't hurt them!"

Elena would never cooperate if either Damon or Stefan were killed. Despite how twisted her emotions must have become over the centuries, the blonde knew that the doppelganger did…in some part of her buried heart, love the Salvatore brothers.

Klaus tore his gaze away from Stefan and almost lazily rested his eyes upon his flustered little fiancé as she huffed in the middle of the clearing with her blood-stained hands and knotted hair.

"They need to die, love," he smiled at her like an adult would to a foolish child, "They've been too much of a pain for me to spare them." His grip on his makeshift stake tightened as he prepared to kill the helpless vampire.

"Klaus, please!" Caroline persisted, flitting over beside him and tugging at his arm- knowing that forcibly wrenching his arm away would only do more damage than good. "You don't have to kill them! You've taught them a lesson; they won't bother you again. Please let them go."

Klaus chuckled and turned his torso to face her, his face set in a dangerous smile that almost made the blonde vampire shiver, but she was determined and so she held her ground.

"You're right; I don't have to kill them," the hybrid replied slowly, and everyone in clearing started in surprise. Caroline held her breath, knowing that there was a catch approaching. "But I want to." He gave her a fleeting smile. "And honestly, love, there's no reason why I shouldn't kill them."

He raised the stake, and Caroline scoured her mind, thinking and desperately trying to conjure a plan to save the others for the sake of the cure. As the hybrid was lowering the wooden stake to deal the final blow, the vampire interrupted him.

"Today's my birthday," she quietly said, though with his super hearing, it was obvious that Klaus would easily hear her.

Her words made his grip falter slightly on the stake, but then he scowled and turned to her with anger on his face.

"You're distracting me, love," Klaus growled at her, "I wouldn't recommend continuing. Besides, I was at your birthday party yesterday. Today is _not_ your birthday."

"I was born at 11:55pm on August the 29th, 1992,"Caroline replied with a building confidence, knowing that if she had any chance of saving the Salvatore, than this was it. She saw the hybrid stiffen suddenly; now understanding the implications of her words. "Technically…It's still my birthday."

There was a moment where nothing moved.

That moment, where an eerie scene of peace emerged between all who were present, was shattered by the angered yell of Nikalus Mikaelson. He tore himself away from the tree trunk and barely spared a glance as Stefan Salvatore slumped to the ground.

The hybrid sped over to the riverbank and shrieked in fury as he threw his makeshift stake into the air with the force of two thousand years of strength. It was out of sight in the blink of an eye, and all the vampires watched as he panted in an effort to contain the anger he felt at having been denied what he wanted.

He swallowed as though doing so would cause his fury to disappear, and then he whirled around and stalked over to where Elena sat pathetically on the ground with a confused Rebekah looming beside her.

Caroline, fearing that her plan may have failed, tried to flit over to stand between the doppelganger and her fiancé, but was halted by the offending arm that latched around her waist and held her back.

"Despite my brother's affection for both you and birthdays, it would not be wise to provoke him further," the smooth voice of Elijah wafted into her ear, and he promptly released her. "Besides, he won't hurt her now."

True to the darker-haired Mikaelson's word, the hybrid stormed over to Elena and snarled at her with all of his anger and fury. His fangs were revealed and the black veins seeped their way to visibility from underneath his eyes.

"You take your lackeys and get out of my sight," he commanded in a dangerously calm voice that contrasted sharply to the expression on his face. "The next time I see you, I will kill you. Run, little Elena."

"Nik?!" Rebekah's outraged voice trilled in the air; her annoyance at having been denied her revenge prominent in her tone. They hybrid, however, ignored her in favour of surveying the brunette's reaction.

The doppelganger, understanding the fragility of the moment, took her chance and ran to lift up a still unconscious Damon. Her gaze flickered between Caroline and Stefan, who was now standing. The younger Salvatore gave the blonde vampire a quick nod; the gesture thanking her for saving him, before he flitted over to Elena and lifted his brother up over his shoulder.

They were gone with a blink of an eye, but it took a few moments for their fast footsteps to fully fade away.

Caroline turned to a still frozen-to-the-spot Klaus, who was staring at the ground. Rebekah, was fuming beside him, and George reluctantly attempted to console her; his talent obvious as the blonde Original soon calmed down.

"Klaus?" Caroline stepped forward tentatively, her shoe breaking a twig on the earth as she moved, but yet again, Elijah stopped her by holding her back.

Turning around she saw that he was mentally trying to tell her that confronting the hybrid now would not be wise. Instead, she simply watched him.

"What she we do, brother?" Elijah spoke up, his voice calm and placating, and the blonde instantaneously noticed that the words of the darker Original snapped the hybrid out of his momentary trance of fury.

His head flashed up, and Caroline's eyes met his. His gaze still held anger, but it had calmed now, and his expression had returned to one of smooth contemplation and manipulation.

"Now," Klaus loudly told everyone present, but his eyes were fixated on Caroline with a slight narrowing of his eyes that told her that she had leapt out of the fire and into the frying pan. Not that frying pans were used anymore. "We all return to the Embassy of Wales."

"All of us?" Caroline repeated in confusion, knowing that she was treading on thin ice, but her stubborn nature refused her to remain silent. "Do you mean George and I, too?"

The hybrid spun around with a dangerous smile on his face; the smile of a predator that knew his prey was caught and struggling within his net.

"But of course, love," Klaus replied with innocently surprised tones, though Caroline could sense the menace behind his words, "How else will we move in together?"

* * *

><p><strong>Yes! So I lied; the Klaus forcing Caroline to thank him will actually appear next chapter. I was originally just going to kill Elena and Damon off (I adore Stefan, so he would have lived) and just give you your Klaroline scenes in Klaus' Embassy but then I realised that the plot would fall to crap if I did that, so yeah. Klaus embassy scene will wait until next chapter- which won't take me as long to update, as I am still on holidays! :) <strong>

**Besides, an angry Klaus will make him more mischievous and willing to put Caroline under stress and force her to go along with the engagement! **

**For those of you that are reading this and thinking: "OMG Klaus would never do that do Caroline, the eternal love of his life"...This is fanfiction, and in my story Klaus and Caroline's relationship didn't develop much further than the Our Town episode in Mystic Falls times. This way, he is still a loose cannon but this chapter especially showed his soft spot for her, and that despite how much he seem angry etc, he isn't going to cause her crippling pain. **

**Thanks, and please review, as it will be the only thing that will guarantee a quicker update! I'm halfway through the next chapter already - what is this strange feeling of organisation?- and if you review than I will work to get it out to you! :) They motivate me to write more for you, and your feedback lets me shape how the story goes! So please review :)**

**Everyone, have a happy Easter! :)**


End file.
